A Blossom Burning Brightly
by ijuintekka
Summary: A story focusing on Guren/Koren and Angela from Seiken Densetsu 3, and explores a potential relationship between the two of them. 聖剣伝説3 聖剣3 紅蓮の魔導師 アンジェラ 紅アン
1. Chapter 1

Seiken Densetsu 3 – A Blossom Burning Brightly - 聖剣伝説3 聖剣3 紅蓮の魔導師 アンジェラ 紅アン

-The First Year-

Water trickled gently through a shallow stream below the front gate of the grand citadel of Altena, the kingdom of sorcery. Pleasant green fields extended all around the colossal stone structure, bordered in a sphere by the biting cold of the sub zero snow fields that surrounded the artificially temperate kingdom on all sides.

Creatures that had grown accustomed to the harsh conditions of the snowfields over many hundreds of years, now relaxed lazily in the pleasant environment maintained by the magic kingdom's spell of perpetual spring.

A thin track of deeply trodden footprints in the snow led from the wastes to the icy border of the spell's area of effect. A single figure wrapped snugly in a warm red travelling cloak, looked up at the high stone walls, admiring the lovingly crafted architecture and basking in the shadow of the magnificent structure that was the Altenian palace, a spire of ivory beauty that jutted up from the centre of the citadel grounds.

The midday sun was high in the sky, and today was the first day of this young man's new life. His name was Guren, a boy from the coastal town of Elrand, on the north-east coast of the Altenian frozen continent, through the treacherous wastes of the sub zero snowfields. His shaggy, golden blonde hair hung untidily about his face, shielding his bright blue eyes from the glare of the bright burning sun.

Today was the day of his sixteenth birthday, a day of which he had been in restless anticipation for many years. Today was the day he was finally old enough to travel from his home in Elrand to the citadel of Altena, to live his dream of enrolling in Altena's magic academy and joining the ranks of the wizards in the Altenian court and military. Guren took a step forward through the border of the spell, the misty breath issuing forth from his lungs melted away as it equalized with the temperature inside the spell. His body quivered with relief at the warmth inside the protection of the Queen of Reason's temperate domain, and he loosened the bindings of his cloak, dropping the thick hood from his head and shaking loose his matted golden hair.

Guren began the march toward the citadel's gate, the palpitations of his heart growing faster with every energetic step. A muffled whimper caught on the breeze captured his attention and stopped his advance, turning his attention instead to the stream that disappeared among rows of trees littered the space outside the citadel walls. Guren turned to the direction of the sound and crept lightly toward its source.

Guren reached a moderately dense grouping of trees on the bank of the small stream, there a spindly elven girl a little younger than him was sobbing lightly on the bank, her knees pulled up close to her face and the fine dress that adorned her developing figure was dirty and wet, as if she had been sitting on the muddy ground for quite some time. Guren had some time, the enrolment into the academy wouldn't start for at least a few days, and she looked like she needed a friend.

"Are you alright, little one?" Guren asked softly as he approached, steadying himself by resting his right hand against the bark of the nearest tree, leaving his left arm still hidden beneath the red travelling cloak.

The girl raised her head suddenly from her knees, obviously startled by the sudden unexpected voice. Her shoulder length, raven black hair bounced with the movement and her stare locked on to the young man watching her from the shade of a tree. Her striking green eyes were filled with tears, and her face was red from the effort of stifling her cries.

Though the evidence of her unhappiness was evident, her expression hardened and she puffed out her cheeks in immature defiance. "I'm not '_little_'!" She protested, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes to hide her weakness, "I'm thirteen years old!"

Guren smirked at the reaction, tucking his left arm behind his back and sweeping his right arm low in an exaggerated bow. "Of course, how foolish of me, my lady."

"Who are you?" The girl asked, getting to her feet and taking a commanding posture, a gross contrast to the whimpering child who was huddling and crying just a moment ago.

Guren smiled broader at the girl's audacity, but decided it would be fun to play along with her, at least for a little while. "My name is Guren, my lady." He replied, raising himself from the bow.

The girl's budding elven ears twitched and she turned her nose up at the young man standing before her. "Guren? What kind of name is that? It's weird."

He was a little hurt by the comment, but it was something he expected from a girl of that age, and shrugged it off as quickly as it hit him. Guren examined her now at her full height, she was tall for a girl of her age though not as tall as him, her features were delicate, beautiful and defined and her body was showing the first overt signs of blossoming into womanhood.

"I'm sorry," Guren closed his eyes and dipped his head in faux apology, "It was the name my mother thought was best." As he finished the sentence, he opened one eye to watch for her reaction.

The girl was jarred a little by the submissive reply, as if she had been hoping for a different response, and all she managed as a follow up was an indignant humph. "You're too tall, are you a human?" She asked still seeming intent on picking a fight.

Guren returned to a standing position and brushed back the hair on the left side of his head, revealing a single, short elven ear. "I'm from Elrand, I've come to study at the magic academy." He responded with pride.

"Hmph!" The girl put her nose in the air again, "My mother is the most powerful wizard in Altena!"

Guren winced at the proclamation and scratched the back of his head with growing frustration. It was common knowledge that Altena's most powerful wizard was the Queen of Reason herself, and surely there was no way this girl all alone outside the citadel walls was Altena's princess.

"Why are you out here all alone?" Guren asked, "Did you get separated from your mother? Are you waiting here for her to find you"

The girl folded her arms and looked away from Guren, suddenly seeming dejected again, "My mother wouldn't come for me anyway." She sat back down on the bank and hugged her knees close to her once more, no longer crying but carrying a heavy air of gloom about her.

Guren approached brazenly and sat next to her, opening his travelling cloak to pull his own knees up to his chin, resting his head on the black tunic he wore underneath. "Did you have a fight with your mother?" He asked.

"No." She replied, "My mother and I don't fight."

"I see." Guren tapped the outside of his leg, "You're a bit of a mystery then."

"It's none of your business." She buried her face into her knees and pretended to ignore him, though in actual fact she was thankful for the company.

Guren sighed and lay himself back on the river bank, straightening his body out and relaxing. It was a nice spot at least, he could see why she liked to be here.

The girl peeked out at him from her exaggerated foetal position. She hadn't seen a boy like him before, he was elven like her, but at the same time he wasn't. His ears were elven but his face was defined like a human but retained the delicate handsomeness of the elven heritage, and he was too tall, far too tall... but then so was she. His long golden hair complemented the shining blue eyes that stood out from his already intoxicating face, she had never before seen a boy who seemed so exotic.

She blushed when she realized she was staring, and briefly buried her head firmly back into her knees, before turning her eyes back to Guren once again. "Why do you want to study magic?" She asked.

Guren turned his own head to face her and smiled broadly, "Because it's amazing!" He replied instantly, "A wizard from Altena came to Elrand, before leaving the continent. Everyone in the orphanage went to see him use healing magic in the town square. That's when I thought, I want to do something like that as well."

"You're from an orphanage?" She asked.

"Yeah..." Guren soured a little, though any negativity wasn't directed toward her. "My mother died giving birth to me."

The girl said nothing, and didn't seem to consider offering any sympathies, but it was enough for Guren to see the concern in her eyes. It was progress at least, maybe soon she'd be able to tell him what was making her so upset.

"What about you?" Guren asked, "Has your mother taught you any magic?"

"No." She said flatly, "And I ha-"

"Princess! Princess Angela!" A shrill voice cut the air between them and a distressed Altenian female rushed toward the stream. "Princess! The whole citadel has been looking for you!"

Startled at the sudden shouting, Guren bolted upright and toppled forward into the stream, floundering briefly before righting himself and sitting flabbergasted in the gently rushing water.

"Oh-" The girl, Angela, blushed again, this time out of embarrassment and averted her eyes from the soaking wet boy. "You're not cool at all." She pouted, but managed a brief relaxing smile.

"Princess!" The female Altenian planted her hands on her hips and began to chastise her royal charge. "You've been told before not leave the palace! What if something were to happen to you!"

Angela's sour expression returned and she jumped to her feet, stalking angrily away from the flustered attendant and the bemused boy who was still sitting in the stream unable to comprehend that the girl he had just been talking to actually was Altena's princess.

"Princess!" Angela's attendant protested and followed her still trying to initiate a lecture with the unruly princess, but sadly to no avail.

Guren finally pulled himself out of the stream and wrang the worst of the water from his travelling cloak, sighing at the mess and at his own clumsiness. He watched the princess and her attendant disappear inside the gates of the citadel.

It was both amazing and hilarious to Guren that this would be his first experience in Altena, but at that point he couldn't imagine just how far Angela's destiny would intertwine with his own.


	2. Chapter 2

-The Second Year-

"No magical aptitude."

"A year's resources wasted on a bad student."

"...Useless child."

"Pathetic."

The heavy doors of the magic academy closed behind Guren for the last time. The polished oaken slabs resounded with a thud, a heavy crash that echoed in Guren's ears for an eternity. A severe snowstorm had partially penetrated the barrier of perpetual spring, and had turned the academy's courtyard into a blanket of white velvet. With his only possession, the heavy red travelling cloak clutched in a bundle in both hands, Guren stared up at the bleak grey sky, watching the gently drifting snowflakes that were pushed through the barrier by the howling winds raging above the citadel.

For the first time in memory, Guren had realized that even magic had its flaws, even magic would eventually be worn away by the restless crawling of nature. A nature that had provided him with a body and mind incapable of using the arts which he so greatly admired.

Guren's seventeenth birthday had passed with the coming of an abrupt end to his dream. A year of disappointment and disapproval from his instructors, and a year of teasing and torture from his fellow students. A wasted year... yet a year in which he had stubbornly refused to give up, until eventually he was given no choice but to abandon his fruitless studies, and leave his dream behind forever.

The weight of Guren's empty heart felt like heavy shackles on his arms and legs, and he trod sluggishly across the silent white courtyard to the archway leading to the castle town of Altena. The streets were cold and quiet, the townspeople cooped up snugly inside their homes, unused to the biting cold of the snow which had invaded their everyday lives. Guren wandered aimlessly from building to building, passing by doors and windows that were sealed to him.

In the centre of the sprawling town, a fountain adorned by a statue of the goddess of mana splashed invitingly. The gentle patter of the water reminded him of that day he first arrived in Altena, and had by chance met the kingdom's crown princess, Angela alone in the thin forest bordering the citadel wall. That day seemed a dream now, a dream of a fresh start and a fresh chance to pursue his ambition. But it was surely a day that would never come again.

Now with his dream taken from him by the machinations of a loveless world, Guren was faced with the prospect of returning to Elrand and taking up the mundane life of an ordinary citizen, and the disappointed faces of all his brothers and sisters that he had left behind in that crumbling orphanage.

The thought was too much to bear. To return to them with nothing, after he had set out with such lofty goals, after they had wished him well and expected to welcome him back as a hero... He couldn't go back, he couldn't show them how easily his dream had been taken from him. It was better for them perhaps... to believe that dreams could still come true.

The snow fell, and the water splashed on behind him... The world continued to move... And he was all alone again.

It was customary in the magic kingdom of Altena, for all graduates of the magic academy to receive their posts and their honours from the Queen of Reason herself. At the end of every year, those who had made it through their final year of training would gather in the throne room of the grand palace, and pledge themselves to service of their queen and kingdom.

Angela hated these events with every fibre of her being. Not for the ceremony or the pomp of those involved, but because of her mother. Every year, attention would be lavished on those fortunate enough to distinguished themselves in their studies. Those in the court would make this a day which the graduates would never forget, and the Queen of Reason would express her pride in their accomplishments, even if they paled in comparison to her own.

The queen had never shown pride in Angela, not only pride, but no disappointment, happiness, sadness, affection or disdain, not even a single iota of love. The queen was regarded as the warm breath of life of Altena, but to Angela there was nothing in the world colder than her mother. This indifference had long been a source of sorrow for the young princess, but as she matured that sorrow was quickly turning to resentment.

Every year it seemed that Angela's miscreant behaviour would grow bolder, and the trouble she caused around the palace would increase exponentially. But still her mother did not embrace her, or scold her, every lecture and every kind word was left to her attendants, but there was no love in those words, and even when surrounded by so many people, Angela saw nothing but empty faces.

At the first opportunity, Angela would leave the throne room to be alone with her thoughts, to cry or to scream, to do whatever it took to bury the longing she held for her mother's warmth. After she had slipped away from the gathered nobles and graduates, Angela's light footsteps carried her to a window overlooking the town below.

The snow was an unusual sight inside the walls, but it was not entirely unwelcome to her. Angela reached out and caught one of the drifting snow flakes in the palm of her hand. The sudden chill shot through her arm and caused goosebumps to rise on the surface of her skin. Her body quivered at the sensation, and it was not entirely unpleasant.

Angela darted for the stairs and slipped by the guards who were focused on keeping unwelcome visitors out of the palace. Angela had practised this many times, and dropped herself from the lowest open window in the palace. The landing was always uncomfortable but it was worth every bump and scrape.

Angela winced with pain as she dropped awkwardly onto the ground below. She stifled a little yelp and rubbed her posterior before getting back to her feet. She gasped with satisfaction as the snowflakes touched down all around her, and she spread out both her hands to catch as many of them as she could.

Spinning and twirling away from the palace, Angela's sharp green eyes sparkled even in the reduced light of this overcast sky. She laughed and smiled as she danced through the gentle snowfall and down the quiet path from the palace to the town below.

The empty streets and the diminishing light of day made the town into her personal playground. Angela kicked up the snow as she ran and immersed herself fully in the moment. Anything to keep her mind from wandering back to the ceremony inside the palace.

Angela skid to a halt as she entered the town square, and pressed herself against the wall of the last building, peering around the corner at the single figure sitting on the edge of the fountain. It took a moment for the memory to surface, but she recognized the person as the boy who had sat with her at the stream a little over a year ago.

The sunken look on Guren's face made her mind wander back to her own ill feelings, and that was something she couldn't allow to happen, not today. She dropped into a crouch and gathered as much snow as she could hold into both her hands.

Guren didn't see it coming, surely even if he had a precognitive ability he wouldn't have believed it would happen. Out of nowhere a snowball struck him hard, its shape contorting and molding itself to the side of his head, sticking in place.

Bemused at the sudden impact, Guren turned to the direction it came from, only to be struck squarely in the face by a second snowball, which dislodged the grip of the first one before it too fell gracelessly from his face to the ground beneath him. Guren's expression hardened and he frowned at the person who had assaulted him so rudely, but his expression softened again when the surprise of who was standing there finally sunk in. It had been over a year since he had seen her last, but the crown princess of Altena was standing about ten feet away, crouching and gathering snow in her hands.

Her hair was a little longer now, almost a quarter of the way down her back, and she was taller, barely a head shorter than Guren himself. Guren's mouth hung open and he couldn't formulate the necessary words in his head to express what he wanted to say to her.

"Your face is making the whole kingdom gloomy!" Angela proclaimed as she stood up with two handfuls of snow. "As princess of Altena it is my duty to punish you for this crime!"

She finished speaking and hurled both the cold missiles at Guren, one of them missing completely and disappearing into the fountain with a plop, the other striking Guren again, squarely in the forehead, and exploding over his face and hair.

Guren's face turned to a manic grin and he scooped up a handful of snow from the fountain rail beside him. Being from Elrand he was used to getting hit with snowballs, but he was willing to wager that the princess of temperate Altena wouldn't have the same advantage. Crunching the gathered snow in his hand Guren quickly lobbed the projectile at the crouching princess. It connected with the top of her head and shattered, showering her with an uncomfortable layer of freezing cold snow.

Angela shrieked and dropped the snow in her hands, trying to brush the snow off of her, but was only making the cold worse in the process.

"Y-you can't do that to me!" She protested, "I'm a princess, you know!"

The two of them glared at each other for a little while, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Just as suddenly as they had stopped, the fight resumed both of them running from around the town square grabbing handfuls of snow and hurling them carelessly at each other. It didn't take long for Angela's protests to fade away, and they circled each other laughing and half heartedly throwing increasingly smaller handfuls of snow as their hands became numb from the effort of handling the freezing substance.

Their heavy, hearty breath and laughter fogged up the air before them, and they both dropped to the snow covered square, still laughing but completely drained of energy. Guren had all but given up trying to gather more snow, but Angela refusing to be outdone flung a loose clump of snow at her opponent, half of which collided uselessly with his tunic while the other disappeared over his shoulder.

Eventually their laughter faded away, and the thoughts of their lives slowly began to creep their way back into their minds. Angela pouted at the sight of Guren's grinning face and folded her arms in renewed protest.

"Honestly, that's no way to treat a princess." She huffed.

Guren snorted in a final burst of jollity then got to his feet, brushing the last of the snow from his hand before offering it to Angela. At first she was a little hesitant, after all she knew almost nothing about this person, but those shining blue eyes made her feel like there was nothing he could ever do to hurt her. She grasped his hand and he carefully lifted her to her feet, then proceeded to bow just as he had done the time they first met.

"Thank you." She said, and before he knew what was happening, she had kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Guren looked up in utter disbelief, but the princess was already gone, her furiously blushing face disappearing back toward the grand palace. Guren raised a hand to his face and touched the spot where her lips had touched him, and in that moment he felt he had discovered a new kind of magic.

A kind of magic that didn't seem so impossible for him.


	3. Chapter 3

-The Third Year-

The day the princess of Altena turned fifteen, a lavish celebration had been planned to commemorate the official commencement of her magical training. While it wasn't an unusual occurrence for such a ceremony to take place, the timing of it came as something of a surprise to the people of the country.

The custom in Altena had been that training in magic should commence on a given person's sixteenth year. What was even more unusual about this was the fact the lessons would be conducted privately, only between Angela and her chosen mentor, one of the kingdom's most powerful wizards and the former headmaster of the Altenian Magical Academy.

Again, it wasn't unusual for a child of noble birth to receive preferential treatment in their studies, but for the crown princess to receive training a year early, and in secret, sent the imagination of the Queen's subjects soaring. The rumours and theories ranged from wild fantasies of the young princess being taught ancient and forbidden techniques to the much more likely opinion that she was being prepared to have an advantage over her classmates when she attended the magic academy at sixteen.

At this time, it was a closely guarded secret by those in the royal court, that the crown princess of the magic kingdom of Altena was unable to use magic. For the offspring of a wizard as powerful as the Queen of Reason to not receive the gift of magic was unheard of, and if such information were to leak to the general public it would certainly be an embarrassment not only for the queen but every court noble that relied on the legacy of their heritage to maintain individual power and authority.

And thus it had been decided, in order to protect the interests of the kingdom, the princess would be tutored privately by the best magician in the country.

Guren had all but forgotten his ordeal at the magic academy, and had been working hard to make himself useful to the palace staff. After performing a lot of graft, and relentlessly applying himself to the mundane tasks of the castle servants, he had finally been granted a place among them to provide service for the nobles and dignitaries at the princess' celebration.

That evening amongst the snow had been the foremost thing on his mind ever since the princess lips had touched him, briefly and ever so gently. And beside a few glimpses stolen in the corridors of the palace, tonight would be the first opportunity he would have to lock eyes with her in almost a year.

Despite her obvious disdain for the life she was leading, it was surprising how busy she could be. Whether or not she was still sneaking out of the palace was unknown to Guren, since he had made it his business to be inside it as much as possible, it was the only way he knew of being as close to her, and as close to the life he had dreamed of, as possible. Though he would never have the opportunity to join the court as a wizard, this could perhaps be enough to at least partially satisfy that wish... Perhaps.

Already the palace ballroom was awash with guests from all divisions of the country's infrastructure. Merchants with their quirky sense of fashion and desire to establish connections drifted from place to place, seeking to introduce themselves to as many people as possible. Officers and their aides from the Altenian army generally grouped together wishing largely to avoid contact with the aggressive merchants and bothersome nobles.

The nobles themselves were perhaps the most difficult to deal with of all those present for the festivities. While the majority of merchants respected the hard work and difficulties facing the servile staff of the palace, and those in the army preferred to keep to themselves and take care of their own business, the nobles were the ones that required the most attention, in particular the noble born children.

The ballroom itself seemed alive with varying hues of glowing golden light, cast throughout the room by magically powered lamps. Cream white drapes covered the windows and captured the dancing lamplight, causing every stitch and pattern on the heavy cloth to be drawn out beautifully for every eye to see. Along the arched ceiling, a row of ornate, enormous chandeliers dominated the room, a shining spectacle of crystal white halos atop the soft stream of gold. At the far end of the cavernous area were the stairs leading to the platform where the Queen of Reason and her daughter would be sitting and taking well wishes, and brief audiences from the nobles and high ranking court officials.

When he though about the nobles standing next to the Queen on the raised platform, Guren remembered he had been warned on his appointment to be as accommodating as humanly possible, even if the things requested of him seemed somewhat unreasonable. He had been told that if one of the nobles decided they didn't like you, it was almost a certainty that your career on the palace staff would come to a sudden end sooner or later. The noble born children especially, in particularly those who had just crossed into adulthood, could be unusually cruel to the serving staff, especially those closer to their own age. With that in mind it had been suggested to him to remain in the kitchens, and leave the maintenance of the ballroom itself to those were less likely to draw the ire of the immature. Guren had insisted however, he must be in the ballroom no matter what.

Looking around at all the people that seemed far more suited for this lifestyle than he ever could be, Guren couldn't help but wonder if he had made a mistake in pursuing the princess as far as this, nothing could come of it after all. He didn't know how she felt, and he knew for certain that a person with meagre skills like himself would never be allowed to court the crown princess in any fashion.

"But..." He thought to himself as his gaze swept again over the growing throng of guests. "Surely it couldn't hurt just to look."

Out of the corner of his eye, Guren spotted a group of three boys, dressed smartly in academy uniforms. He recognized them as three of the particularly snobbish students he had shared classes with during his ill fated stint as a student. The unsettling thing about this was that he could easily notice them glancing at him periodically while whispering among themselves, no doubt reminiscing about his dismal performance in all his studies.

Guren resisted the urge to turn his disapproving gaze on the boys, for fear of causing too much trouble for himself and the people that had trusted this job to him. He shuffled off to the side, toward a group of officers that were busily talking amongst themselves. Standing next to them was probably the safest place to be, nobody would dare speak out of turn, even to a servant, when the strict eyes of military commanders were nearby.

All those present in the room stopped what they were doing when a sudden fanfare rang throughout the magnificently prepared ballroom. Conversations ceased, drinking was postponed, and all those who were seated stood to face the thrones at the head of the room.

The Queen of Reason, her daughter, and their attendants almost seemed to effortlessly drift as they crossed the short distance from the wings of the hall to their assigned positions on the platform. The queen and her daughter wore rich, matching white robes, adorned with the same beautiful detail that was displayed across all things that were present in the room.

Guren's shining blue eyes lit up at the sight of the princess taking her seat next to her mother. She had matured so much in a single short year. The childish girl that had taken such pleasure in pelting him with snow had been replaced by a lady who was fast becoming supremely beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than her mother. Although she had not gained in height since their last meeting, the growth in her body quickly became the foremost thought in the minds of all that were present.

After the gathered crowd acknowledged their queen and princess, it didn't take long for the festivities to resume with renewed enthusiasm. Guren's attention however, lingered on the princess to the exclusion of all else.

"Just a moment..." He thought, willing the princess' eyes to meet with his own.

He wasn't sure if she would recognize him, it would be the first time she had seen him without his bright travelling cloak to give him away, but all the same he kept his eyes fixed on her as she nodded and spoke to the people who were now lining up to kneel before her.

"Just look at me..." He whispered, almost inaudibly to be sure nobody would hear him.

But Angela didn't look at him. This night at least, their eyes wouldn't meet.

She was so far away it seemed, yet close enough for him to memorize every beautiful detail of her delicate face. He became so absorbed in watching her that he failed to notice the people passing him and making disgusted faces at the uncouth simpleton that dared to gawk stupidly at their beloved princess.

"Ah, Guren."

A voice startled him from behind, and Guren span to see the palace's head butler standing with a pleasant yet slightly sly expression on his squinting face. The man was short, and old, but he still held a full head of silvery grey hair that shone oddly in the soft light.

"Guren, we need another case of wine for the merchants." The head butler informed him, "Would you be so kind as to head to the cellar and ask for the best they have available?"

"Yes! Of course." Guren acknowledged, straightening himself and reluctantly giving up on keeping his eyes on the princess, for now at least.

"Good." The old butler smiled and nodded at him. "Hurry along now."

Guren bowed slightly in return and headed urgently out of the ballroom to the service hallway. The busy sound of the gathering faded further into the background with each archway that he passed by, until eventually it was little more than an echo resounding in the back of his mind. The service hallways were a dull grey compared to the grandeur of the ballroom he had left behind, plain oil lamps that the non-magically gifted servants could turn on and off at will took the place the golden magical lanterns that had bathed Angela in their revealing light.

Guren turned down a winding staircase into the palace's wine cellar, there wasn't much in there other than the obvious racks of bottles and large vats of fermenting wine. It was quiet and there didn't seem to be anybody around, Guren considered that odd since in the short time he had known the head butler he had never made the mistake of misplacing the location of one of his charges.

"Hello?" Guren called out, expecting to rouse someone who had decided to take a sneaky nap behind one of the wine racks.

There was a sudden rush of air and an arm curled around Guren's neck pull him violently backward. Guren's eyes widened and his hands sprang up instinctively to try and pull the arm free. The weight of the person holding him shifted, spinning him around to face the staircase back to the service hallways.

"Well well well." Said one of the boys that had been eyeing him earlier in the ballroom, a second grinning stupidly at his side, and third holding Guren fast in his fat fingered grip.

As usual, Princess Angela had defied all expectations of her and had left the platform to mingle freely among the guests on the floor. She didn't stop to speak with anyone in particular, though many tried to capture her attention. She was looking for one person in particular, and anyone fortunate enough to capture her in conversation was given the unanswerable question; "Have you seen a boy with blonde hair?"

Considering how many Altenians had blonde hair this wasn't an easy question to answer. Coupled with the fact that most of Angela's guests would not have considered the target of Angela's search 'a boy', as someone eighteen years of age would, for the most part, be considered a man.

Eventually, Angela was forced to give up the search of the crowd and was ushered back to the raised platform by her attendant and two guards who feared for her safety among a crowd so eager to seek her attentions.

Angela threw herself into the heavily cushioned throne and placed her head glumly between her hands, a posture certainly not befitting a princess on her birthday. She was sure she had seen him on her way in, she had caught a glimpse of that unkempt golden mop of hair set over those bottomless blue eyes, but now they were nowhere to be seen.

The lonely princess stared out into the busy sea of faces, hoping to catch sight of Guren's face again, but she couldn't see it.

"Where did you go?" She asked nobody in particular, and continued to stare. "The only reason I'm still here is because I wanted to dance with you, you know... Stupid."

"Just look at me!" The lead boy's voice dripped with poisonous sarcasm, and the three of them laughed cruelly as the second boy flung his fist into Guren's chest, sending the air rushing out of his lungs.

"That's pretty bold for a pleb that can't even use magic, you know?" The lead noble born continued, inching closer to the wheezing, helpless Guren. "Hahaha, what did you think was gonna happen? Did you think she'd run down from the throne and ask you to dance or something? Are you stupid as well as useless?"

The second boy hit Guren again as hard as he could, the three of them laughing as Guren tried to break away, if only to lay himself down and curl up in pain.

"Do you think the princess wants you looking at her with your dirty, common born eyes?" The lead boy snapped his fingers, and ignited a small ball of magical flame in his hand. "I should burn them out of your skull for her, she'd be so thankful." He grinned sadistically waving the crackling flame mere inches before Guren's snarling face.

"Hey, what do you think?" Said the second boy, now examining some of the wine racks. "Let's pour some of this down his throat, make a real mess out of him then leave him for the guards to find."

"Hahaha, good idea!" The third boy shouted, loud enough to cause a ringing in Guren's ear.

The lead boy back up from Guren a little and nodded to his cohort. "Bring it over the-"

Guren wasted no time in taking advantage of the leader's prone position and swung his foot high, knocking the flaming hand up and into the unsuspecting boy's delicate face. The boy howled and staggered as his face burned and his hair caught alight, his head quickly turning into a small fireball. He frantically pat his head with both hands trying to extinguish the flames, completely forgetting one of his hands was still the source of the fire licking across his face.

The remaining two boys stood temporarily paralysed with shock, while their leader flailed around trying to extinguish his face. Guren didn't stop there however, and his foot swung backwards as hard as he could manage, and crashed deep between the third boy's legs.

His eyes bulged in his chubby face, and he wailed like a hungry newborn baby as the pain spread out through his abdomen. The remaining assailant was already running by the time Guren had let him collapse to the to the stone floor, clutching his broken jewels as if his life depended on it.

The leader had finally remembered that he was able to cast magic to stop the burning sensation which was eating deep into his skin, and had finally managed to put out the fire enveloping his face. Like his partner, he was now curled up on the ground, cradling his blistering skin in hands lit up by a basic healing spell.

Guren was about to hurtle up the staircase in pursuit of the last fleeing coward, but was halted by the sound of three sets of footsteps clamouring down instead.

"Arrest him at once!" The head butler shrieked, pointing a bony finger at Guren.

The two guards that had accompanied the head butler grappled with Guren, who grunted and struggled while trying to explain himself.

"No! It wasn't me! They did it all! I-!"

One of the guards struck Guren hard across the side of the head with a sturdy baton, and Guren said nothing more as his world suddenly went black.

cool at all."


	4. Chapter 4

-The Fourth Year-

The biting frost covering the wasteland between Altena and Elrand was treacherous at the best of times, and during the winter months even the most well prepared of travellers would be risking their life to brave the dire freezing temperatures and the sudden violent snowstorms.

Not even the ferocious monsters that made the sub zero snowfield their home, dared venture from the safety of their lairs at this particular time of year. It was an environment suited only for the foolish and for the dead.

Guren fell face first into the snow, his red travelling cloak crunched as the water frozen between its fibres snapped from his body's irregular movement. The death penalty had long been rescinded in the kingdom of Altena, but in its stead the guards and nobles alike took great pleasure in expelling a prisoner from the city in the depths of winter and forcing them to travel beyond the safe border of perpetual spring, and venture deep into the wastes where arriving at Elrand would be their only hope of staying alive. That hope was a dream, and all those behind this punishment knew that no living being could cross the wastes in the depths of winter without sufficient magical protection.

Every joint in his body was stiff and barely responsive, his face, arms, legs, fingers, and toes were numbed through from the hail of fine powdery snow that flew in gale force winds, swirling across the empty landscape. But still he forced himself unsteadily and slowly back to his feet, the parts of his body that retained feeling burned with cold as the numbness spread through his skin like a cancer.

He cursed them, all of them, over and over again. With each painful step toward Elrand, Guren cursed the names of all those who had done this to him. He had known all along, even before he had been left to rot for a year in Altena's prison, ever since that day the doors of the magic academy closed behind him for the last time, that he would never be able to reach the life and status he had dreamed of. Ever since Angela's lips had brushed his cheek that night, he knew at the back of his mind that it would never happen again.

Even so, why had they done this to him? Was it really such a crime to live with these feelings? Had he been wrong all along to dare love beyond his station? Those boys he understood, he understood the selfish brand of cruelty that was inherent in all walks of life. But that old man, Guren resented him most of all. For Guren, having a fellow common born sell him into the abusive machinations of noble born brats breached his already fragile belief in loyalty and camaraderie.

Guren fell again, awkwardly, he crumpled into a heap on the plains and lay still, the wind howling like a horde of ravenous demons, stalking, teasing, waiting patiently for the last flickers of life in Guren's eyes to go out.

Every day for the past year, Guren had thought of Angela, waiting and wishing for her to find him and set him free. Of course he knew she wouldn't come, it was likely she didn't even know where he was, likely she didn't even remember his name. But when thoughts of his princess could no longer keep the feelings of sour betrayal from boiling in his heart, Guren's thoughts to turned to revenge, pure violent, physical, torturous retribution.

It was a an aspect of his personality that even Guren had not known existed, a seething hatred that grew day by day which called out for blood. Until eventually the long stream of days and the growing thirst for justice buried his tender feelings for the princess of Altena, deep under a bubbling black shroud.

Guren remained a defeated object of no importance, helpless in the snowstorm while a thin film of powdery white gradually settled over his body, buffeted by the hard, dry Altenian wind. The black hateful mass in his heart rippled and spat with every command to move that was ignored by his numb extremities.

Thump, thump.

"I don't want to die..." Guren whispered through pale, blue lips.

Thump, thump.

"I don't want to die." He repeated, fully aware of the sound of heavy, unnatural footsteps approaching him, but unable to move to do anything about it.

Thump, thump.

Guren stared off into the distance, his eyes heavy and his body devoid of energy, he wanted so badly to move, to run, to reach the safety of the orphanage in Elrand. If he had gone back to Elrand two years ago as he should have, he wouldn't be suffering this way. If he hadn't entertained his foolish wish to remain close to the princess, he could have returned home and lived a normal, productive life, instead of dying like an animal lost in the wastes.

Thump, thump.

"Angela..." He said as tears welled in his eyes only to freeze over and distort his vision, "I want to see you...So please... Look at me..."

Thump, thump.

Guren finally lost consciousness as a black shape emerged from the storm. A suit of armour, darker than the night itself, trudged toward Guren's prone form with hollow, heavy footsteps. On its back a large, threatening, silver broadsword rested within a tattered sheath. It ceased its movement as it stood over Guren's body, a pair of glowing purple eyes set deep within its helmet, the only light against the otherwise black interior of the silent thing's bulky frame.

The thing reached out and grasped Guren by his tunic, hoisting him off the icy ground and curling him under one arm where he hung like a fish on a hook. The suit of armour carried Guren off into the storm without so much as a word or a breath, only the sound of empty metal set heavily against the earth.

Guren awoke, sluggish and confused, finding himself moving through the interior of an enormous cavern of ice. The walls were shaped oddly as if the entire structure had been created by melting away the very innards of a great glacier. His clothes were soaked through and his body shivered . A black suit of armour was carrying him in both arms, silent but with unmistakable heavy footsteps that resounded throughout the passage, its path illuminated by a pair of glowing purple eyes.

The light of day was slipping away as he was carried through the cave by the dark knight. Though he could still feel his life ebbing away in the cold, Guren had somehow regained consciousness, perhaps because he was finally out of the storm, but at this point he didn't think a brief respite from the harsh gale would do much to prolong his life.

"Where am I?" Guren asked the suit of armour, his lips trembling and the mist of his breath growing less dense as the temperature of his body dropped dangerously close to equalizing with the world around him.

The suit of armour lowered its head to consider Guren, and for a moment Guren thought he could see the shape of a man's head through the visor, but it was too dark inside to make out.

"Did you save me?" Guren asked again, hoping to get a response from who or whatever was inside, after all Guren didn't know of any race possessing eyes that would glow with a purple light.

The dark knight said nothing and continued to traverse passage that led deeper into the cave. The heavy footsteps thumped through Guren's head as he drifted in and out of consciousness, surely this thing had no intention of saving him, and he wondered if whatever was inside was going to eat him when he finally died.

Without warning, the knight dropped Guren suddenly to the floor of the frozen structure, then proceeded to walk by him, finally coming to a halt at the foot of a raised dais. With the last ounce of strength in his body, Guren pulled himself to his knees and swung his head carelessly backwards to observe the room.

Atop the dais, a large man in plain flowing green robes, and an ornate golden helmet with a tail that curled and writhed like the tail of a dragon, regarded Guren's last moments of life with a look of contemptuous disdain.

"I asked you to bring me an Altenian wizard, and you bring me THIS?! This half dead THING?!" The man turned his head to the dark knight, his voice full of scorn, the tail of his helmet whipping angrily as if in response to his mood.

The dark knight lowered its head in subservience and apology, but the man had already lost interest in chastising it. He had climbed down from the dais and approached Guren, long claw-like nails on his fingers clacking together as he flexed and relaxed his hands.

"No matter," The man began tapping one of his clawed fingers against his chin, "My patience is at an end. Tell me child, do you want power?"

Guren couldn't understand the question, he was at his limit and nothing seemed to matter at this moment. The only thing he wanted was for all this to be over, so that he could watch over Angela and all his brothers and sisters, and finally meet his mother in whatever afterlife awaited him at the end of this cold, depressing ordeal.

"Do you want _revenge_?" The man probed further.

A switch went off in Guren's mind, and he remembered everything that had happened to him since that night one year previous in the span of a mere second. Yes, of course, of course he wanted revenge, all of them needed to pay for what they'd done to him.

"I want..." Guren began but hesitated before the word left his mouth.

"What do you want?" The man asked again.

"I want..." Guren hesitated again, his thoughts of revenge lost amidst the void left by his depleted strength.

"Whatever you want most in this world, I will give you. All I ask in return is that you pledge your body and your soul to me."

"I want... her..." Guren wheezed and he toppled forward his head cracking uncomfortably against the solid ice.

"Then tell me, child. Do you wish a contract with me?" The man knelt to whisper in Guren's ear.

"...Y...es..." The word Guren spoke was broken and almost impossible to hear, but as the word left his mouth, he felt that a piece of his very soul escaped along with it.

"Then you shall have it." The man acknowledged, placing a gnarled hand atop Guren's bleeding head. "Everything that you have earned."

This was the culmination of Guren's first meeting with the being that would become known as the Dragon Emperor.


	5. Chapter 5

-The Fifth Year-

"Guren." Angela read out loud, holding a richly bound book, wider than her entire body, propped up on a table before her. "The red lotus, symbolizing love, empathy, energy, passion, and all the qualities of the heart."

Angela lay the book flat on the desk, pinning back a long, slender ear and resting her head sideways on the page. She stared at the name which was finely penned above an illustration of a delicate looking crimson bloom. The paper was rugged and uncomfortable against her soft skin, but it reminded her of the feeling of the bristled, scratchy, uncomfortable texture of his cheek. It wasn't a pleasant feeling but for some reason it made her happy.

It had been two years since she had last seen the red lotus of Elrand, and today was the last day of the second calendar year since he had vanished. In all that time there had been no stolen glances, no whispered words of encouragement, and no chance meetings in quiet corners of the sprawling city.

The slight smile on Angela's face turned down when her thoughts drifted too far toward what had become of those moments she had grown so fond of as a girl, and the texture of the paper suddenly seemed cold and dead in comparison with the feeling of the moment still fresh in her memory.

The scruffy boy whom had blundered so unexpectedly into her life, brought with him the warm feelings she had been craving those thirteen years previous to their meeting, now just as suddenly the wind had taken him away, and for another two years her life had returned to the monotony of ceremony, study, and her mother's cold distant eyes.

In recent months she had not even been able to leave the palace to search for him in the city due to the palace guards' increased vigilance. Both the townspeople and those in the castle were in an uproar over a gruesome spectacle which had taken place in the town square during the dead of night. Three nobleman had been found dead around the mana goddess' fountain, one burned to death, another beaten until every bone in his body had been shattered, and a third whose neck had been squeezed so tightly it had been compacted down to the size of a broom handle.

The three noble families involved had feared for their lives so greatly, they had abandoned their homes and taken refuge in the palace, only to leave again shortly after the sudden disappearance of the palace's head butler, no body had been found and all his belongings were still in place, leading guards to believe he had been taken from the palace against his will. For such an incident to take place inside the most heavily guarded structure in all of Altena, had prompted a doubling of all soldiers stationed within the palace, covering all possible exits and entrances, effectively cutting Angela off from the outside world for good.

And to this day no culprit had been found in either case.

A sudden surge of resentment fluttered through her lamenting heart, and she lifted her head from the page, her ear springing back to its natural position. Angela closed the book with a swift movement and got out of her seat, beginning to wander around the room.

The palace library was an enormous dome filled with endless amounts of books. As a child Angela remembered thinking that it couldn't have been possible for anyone to have read every book in the library, and she was even more amazed when she had heard the library in the magic academy was even bigger than this one. She often imagined how difficult it must be to keep every book organized with the students constantly moving them from place to place.

It was quiet in the palace library however. Angela had been ordered to study by her tutor, and in response to a task she didn't want to obey, had ordered everyone in the palace library to leave her in peace and quiet. Thinking about it now, it seemed odd for a girl who professed herself to be so lonely to force those around her away. She didn't understand the feelings of other people, but it seemed she understood herself even less.

Mounted between two of the polished mahogany bookcases, a great mirror stood grand, scaling the wall behind from the carpeted floor to the high domed ceiling above. It was a mirror used for summoning rituals, Angela knew that much, though she had never seen it in use, and had no idea as to what use a mirror could be in such spells, but as yet she had even to master a simple light spell.

Angela sighed as she stared into the thick glass frame, her own reflection staring back at her with eyes full of melancholy. She blushed a little as her eyes drifted downwards to take in her whole appearance. Angela had taken to dressing as inappropriately as she could get away with, bare thighs, bare legs, her rear covered just barely by a thin sash hanging from her waist, and cleavage bound tight and pushed up to be as provocative as possible. It wasn't that she enjoyed dressing this way, at least not at first, but the first time she did it was in front of her mother, hoping to illicit some kind of response even if it were to be a negative one. But as always it had been her attendants who had chastised Angela for her inappropriate behaviour, and thus she had continued to do it every day, just to spite them. A common harlot had been the term used, but Angela simply put her nose in the air and declared she would dress however she wanted to dress, before running out of the throne room and locking herself inside her quarters.

Now suddenly, she felt a little self conscious of her appearance, wrapping her hands around her shoulders and covering her chest with her arms. Even though there was nobody else around, looking at herself this way seemed somehow embarrassing. This must have been how her attendants felt whenever they set eyes on her.

Snorting a little with repressed laughter, Angela nearly doubled over from holding back the sudden outburst.

"I wonder if he would like me this way..." She thought, planting one hand on her hips, wiggling her lower body and using the the other hand to blow a kiss to her mirror image. Angela blushed bright red at her foolish action and turned away on the spot. "Maybe tomorrow would be a good day to dress a little more conservatively..."

Angela sighed again and looked at the pile of unread books on the desk. What did it matter if she couldn't use magic? She could still lead a happy life without it, her mother never gave her any approval no matter what she did, so why should it matter to her whether or not her daughter could use magic?

Angela had never made it to the magic academy. In the two years she had been studying, she had made no progress. Her teacher blamed her 'lack of heart', but Angela regarded that assessment with disdain, as if an old man whose talent came to him naturally would understand anything about her heart. The fact she did not make it to the academy was also something of a hot topic amongst the citizens of Altena, though somehow the palace had managed to keep her failure as a magician a secret, and the rumours of unusual training still persisted.

The only unusual training Angela had was in learning the best way in which to avoid her studies completely, which fortunately for her was not a difficult task for a princess who, for the most part, had the authority to command people as she wished.

Looking at the stack of old books Angela wondered for a second if she should start seriously applying herself. Even if she showed no talent now, maybe if she persisted for long enough and learned something that would unlock at least a portion of the talent she may have inherited from her mother, perhaps then then she would finally take some pride in her. Maybe she'd even show her the kind of love she had seen the common born mothers give their daughters. And if she learned how to use magic she could use it to find Guren, and she could bring him back to the palace and then the two of them...

Angela's train of thought stopped right there, it was too early to be getting so excited over possibilities. Angela picked up the book containing the picture of the lotus bloom again, and began to flick through the pages to reach the name and illustration.

Angela stopped exploring the book half way and slammed the book shut once again, hurling it across the room and knocking down a case full of books in the process.

"You both abandoned me! Both of you! I hate you both!" She screamed, picking up another book and throwing it at a second case, sending another set of books flying off their shelf. "I hate you both!" She repeated, higher and more urgent than before. Angela repeated this pattern with every book that was piled onto her desk, her eyes burning with each crash and her throat aching with the effort of screaming at people who could not hear her.

When her desk was finally empty, Angela dropped to the carpet and pulled her knees up close to her chin, burying her welling tears in the soft skin of her legs. "I need you so much..."

There was a sudden knock at the library door, and the worried voice of Angela's attendant called out to her from behind the oak slab. Angela ignored the woman's voice and withdrew further into herself, trying to picture herself on the bank of the stream, or lying in the snow of the town square, anywhere but here, anything but these endless days of loneliness. All she wanted was to see those beautiful blue eyes, or to see her mother smile when she greeted her.

"Why should I play around with magic, when something so simple is so impossible for you?" She said quietly, rocking herself gently back and forth in an effort to calm down. "Mother..."

The knocking at the door ceased, and Angela could hear the jangle of keys and the heavy clunk of the lock being released from the other side.

Angela stopped rocking herself and peered up to look one last time at the very first book she had thrown, now just visible under a cascade of dusty reference books.

"Guren... I want to see you... What should I do?"


	6. Chapter 6

-The Sixth Year-

"Hey, hey! Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"They caught the one responsible for all those murders."

"No way! I didn't think they'd ever catch them!"

"I heard they have him on trial in the throne room right now."

The tips of Angela's ears wiggled up and down behind one of her books, protruding like fins on the surface of water. Her gaze was buried intently into the parchment, doing her best to shut out the irritating sound of the female students who had taken it upon themselves to start gossiping inside the palace library, ruining any chance she had of fully concentrating on her studies.

"Oh, who was it?" One of the girls asked.

Angela could feel a vein in her forehead pulsing, with her rising frustration. She hadn't had cause to unleash her ire on anyone today, but now her focus was drifting away from the words and diagrams in front of her to weighing the pros and cons of yelling at her unwelcome neighbours to get out.

"I don't know. Victor said there was a blonde man in a thick red cloak being taken to see the queen." The second girl responded to her friend.

It took a little while for the words to fully sink in through the barrier of malicious intent growing on Angela's tongue, but when it finally got through she dropped the book and stood up suddenly, sending the chair below her toppling to the floor.

"P-Princess?" The two girls looked at Angela and spoke in unison.

Angela stared flabbergasted at the two of them for a moment, as if they'd said something so inappropriate and beyond logical reasoning she was about to explode into a tirade of disgust and disbelief. Without a further word to the two of them, Angela took off running, careering by her attendant who flinched backwards with a yelp.

The walls and archways of the castle hurtled by as Angela raced to her mother's throne with all the power her slim frame could muster. She couldn't believe it, not even for a second, it had to be someone else because the Guren she knew, the Guren she had fallen in love with in that moment, couldn't possibly have done those terrible things.

Angela emerged from the castle hallway into the light of day, squinting as the sun caught her eyes. She hopped over the banister leading down to the courtyard rather than take the time to use the stairs. The guard standing at the nearest entrance to the main tower was taken aback by the princess' sudden descent from the stairs to the ground below, and barely recovered her senses by the time the princess had reached the steps leading to the doorway.

"Princess! I-I'm sorry, I can't let you in right now!" The guard stammered, but Angela kept on coming.

"Out of my way!" Angela declared and ducked low under the guard's steady legs, hurling herself forward through the door.

The guard stared with her mouth agape, but dared not follow the princess inside. Angela recovered quickly from her sudden display of athletics, not wanting to give the guard the chance to follow her inside. Springing to her feet, Angela ran straight for the assembled nobles and captains forming a crowd at the far end of the throne room, stopping just short of revealing herself to her mother and peering around the corner at the people standing before her.

The Queen of Reason, flanked by two of her most trusted commanders, was considering an old man held to his knees by two of the captains in the centre of the room. Angela closed her eyes tight and heaved a sigh of relief, grasping at the heart which was beating so furiously in her chest.

"...And it was only after returning to Altena did he show himself to me. He thought he'd gotten rid of me but as I knew the four of them had conspired to steal funds from the treasury he had no choice but to come after me when he spotted me coming through the city gates. My only regret is that I had not been able to return to inform you of their treason sooner, your majesty. And to think he would murder all three of his accomplices to keep the gains for himself is..."

Angela's eyes fluttered open wide, the elation written plainly on her face. It was him, even though she could only see the back of his red cloak and the untidy mess of golden hair, she knew it was him. It was all she could manage not to call out to him right at that moment, interrupting the speech he was delivering to her mother.

"Enough." The Queen of Reason held up her hand to halt Guren in mid sentence. "And the two of you can attest to this statement?"

"Y-yes, your majesty!" One of a pair of guards stammered, when the queen addressed them. "We had no idea at the time, as we were called to deal with an assault, but I remember Sir Guren stating that 'It was them! They did it all!'"

"And instead of bringing this child before me for trial, you and the nobles in question conspired to exile him to the wastes at the height of winter?" The queen raised her head to peer down at the quivering soldiers that now found themselves unintentionally trapped in serious trouble.

"Y-Yes, your majesty, we beg your forgiveness." Both guards dropped to one knee and prostrated themselves before the queen.

"Both of you are relieved of your duties, henceforth to be dishonourably discharged from the Altenian royal guard. Your places in the barracks must be vacated, and you must return to the city within the day."

"Y-yes, your majesty." Both guards bowed their heads low, feeling fortunate that at least they still had heads to bow.

Another military commander and two of his adjutants entered the room, carrying a dry, rotting wine barrel. They placed it before the queen, prying it open with their swords to reveal it was full to the brim with glittering gold coins.

"There are at least two more like this in the location he gave us, your majesty." The commander bowed to his sovereign, holding up a handful of the coins and dropping them back into the barrel. "We also discovered plans had been made to secretly move the money outside the city walls without inspection during the summer, with a private ship to Byzel chartered from Elrand to remove the money from the country. We have sent a contingent of soldiers to detain the ship and its crew, but we believe we have uncovered the full extent of this theft."

The Queen of Reason turned her cold gaze back on the old man still being held on his knees. "You served our family well for so many years, I still cannot understand why you would do such a thing. I am willing to give you one final chance to explain yourself."

The old man said nothing, and didn't move a muscle as if he were incapable of moving his body on his own. Angela recognized him as the palace's head butler, she knew him well, and also found it unbelievable to think he was responsible for stealing the money of the people of Altena.

"It is all true my queen..." The old man finally spoke, in a dry, weak voice. "I cannot lie to you any longer. Everything that has been said is true."

"Then I have no choice." The Queen of Reason stood to address the old man one final time. "All the charges brought against you have been reviewed. Three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and gross theft from the palace and the people of Altena. You are guilty of all these charges, and in accordance with the law of our country you will be imprisoned for the remainder of your life."

With that, the former butler of Altena's royal family was hauled to his feet, and removed from the queen's sight, never to be seen again. The queen herself returned to her throne, and addressed the only out of place person remaining in the room.

"Guren, was it?" She said, allowing Guren the time to move to the centre of the room and assume a kneeling position. "Your efforts in revealing the culprit of these crimes will not go unrewarded."

"Your majesty," Began Guren, suddenly and presumptively, much to the chagrin of the watching nobles, "If I may, the only reward I desire would be the chance to serve your majesty and the kingdom of Altena. I beg that I be granted the opportunity to prove myself worthy of joining the ranks of the wizard army."

"If that is all you desire, then that is what you shall be given." The Queen nodded to him. "A servant will see to your needs, and you will be indoctrinated into the ranks of the court wizards for your services to the kingdom of Altena."

There was an outraged murmur from the crowd gathered in the hall. For a commoner to be granted a place among the court wizards so frivolously, even if the title were merely decoration, was unheard of.

"Your majesty, I am honoured." Guren bowed his head low.

With that, the Queen rose from her throne and departed the room with her commanders and attendants. Shortly after the gathered nobles and commanders also departed, leaving Guren standing alone in the centre of the room.

"Princess." Guren said out loud, causing Angela to jump behind the wall, unnerved at being discovered so easily.

Angela steeled herself to meet Guren's eyes for the first time in just over two years, stepping tentatively onto the carpeted centre of the throne room. Guren turned almost too fast for her to see, and dropped to one knee, quickly reaching out to firmly grasp one of her hands.

Angela had to choke down a cry of surprise, as for the first time since she had known him, he had taken the initiative to touch her. Guren drew her hand to his lips and pressed them gently against one another, causing Angela's body to visibly quiver.

Angela found herself wondering if this was really the same Guren, this confidence and charm lacked the inhibition of the boy she had kissed in the town square all those years ago. Guren stood, still grasping her hand tightly, even bringing his free hand over to form a shell around her trembling fingers.

"Princess, I've been waiting to see you for so long." Guren's face was beaming with pride, and he drew closer still to Angela, who was visibly flustered by the change in Guren's personality.

"St-Stop that..." She stammered nervously, trying to inch away from Guren as he grew nearer. "Give me a little room to breathe."

"Princess, you have only grown more beautiful since I last saw you in the ballroom. These years past I have only thought of you. Everything I have done, I have done to see you again. The magic I have learned, the places I have been, everything was for your sake. For the sake of my love for you."

"L-Love?" Angela couldn't believe he had really said it, and so suddenly after all this time they had been apart. She felt the same way but for him to be this forward, it didn't feel like it was still him any more. "Who- Who do you think you are?!" Angela yelled, pushing him away.

Guren staggered back a little, honestly surprised at the resistance Angela was putting up to his confession. He renewed his advances and grasped Angela's upper arms, bringing her eyes completely level with his.

"Princess... Angela." Guren said staring deep into her frightened green eyes, digging his fingers into her skin.

Angela was truly frightened now, this wasn't the same person she had known. That smile seemed inhuman, and those blue eyes were no longer shining and innocent, they were dark, narrow... and dead.

"Stop it... It hurts..." She squirmed against him.

"Angela, I want to make you mine."

Angela couldn't take another word, this wasn't the same person. She felt like all the feelings she had grown up with had suddenly been snatched away, and that she had been lied to for five long years. She heaved the red wizard away from her again, and struck him hard across the face.

The sound of Angela's hand connecting with Guren's cheek echoed throughout the room. And the two of them stood silent for a moment, Guren's cheek reddening from the force of the blow.

"Who are you?!" Angela asked, holding her head low.

Guren didn't respond, but touched the stinging spot on his cheek where he had just been struck, the same cheek her lips had touched. Now it seemed that the pleasure of that fond moment had been washed away with a single swipe of her hand.

Angela stifled the feeling of regret that was welling up inside her, turning on her heel and running as far away from Guren as she could. Leaving the red wizard standing alone in the empty throne room, largely unaware that she had sown the first seeds of a resentment that would shatter their lives apart.


	7. Chapter 7

-The Seventh Year-

'_As the power of mana fades, the relentless cold begins to creep inside city and castle._'

Over the course of one short year, Guren's rise to power had been nothing short of miraculous. Not only had he risen through the ranks of the court wizards with a speed and talent never before seen in a wizard of any kind, but after the untimely death of the former general of the Altenian army, the Queen saw fit to bestow her new favourite with the title of Supreme Commander.

It was the beginning of a chapter in Altena's history when the ruling class had been suddenly and abruptly hushed by the young upstart brat from Elrand. Dissenting voices were met with a reaction that was both swift and harsh, and sometimes disproportionate, until eventually Guren had all but cleared the noble families from their positions in government. To the nobles, Guren was seen as a demon, an outsider that had invaded their land and stolen what was rightfully theirs, but to the common soldiers, wizards, and the people of Altena themselves, Guren had become nothing less than a hero. A true miracle that was breathing new life into the decaying tendrils of Altena's system of government.

Nobody was really sure when exactly it happened, but in recent months the Queen was not often seen without Guren at her side. To most it would seem that her majesty was merely in the company of her right hand, but to others who thought deeply about Altena and its politics, it was worrying that the Queen would be unable to separate herself from the red wizard, and that eventually all the authority that the Queen herself now wielded would be perceived as being shared by between them both, and perhaps in the end, solely by her general.

For the princess of Altena however, this meant something different entirely. For Angela, seeing the mother that was so cold to her and the man she had fallen in love now standing so close, was the final notch in a history of cruel disappointment. Neither Angela nor Guren had been able to use magic, Angela had thought that this was special, that between the two of them they would find solace in the fact that neither one was capable of meeting the expectations of the world around them. And now with the Queen of Reason and Crimson Lotus Wizard standing side by side, Angela felt betrayed, and worse than that, she felt more alone than she had ever felt before.

After all there was nothing else that she had, magic was foreign to her, Guren had been stolen from her by this person calling himself the Crimson Lotus, and her mother had shunned her ever since she was born. This was the catalyst that finally drove Angela to completely abandon her studies, and withdraw herself within her shell of whimsical selfishness and open disobedience to all that was expected of her.

Altena itself was in the midst of a crisis. The magical energy known as "Mana" which gave life to the barrier of perpetual spring covering Altena and the surrounding lands had begun to recede. Now the spell extended barely to the city walls, causing what had once been a belt of pleasant green to be swallowed by the harshness of the wastes. And slowly but surely, the warm light of Altena was being snuffed out.

The throne room of Altena's palace was filled with the representatives of the Altenian government, and by the commanders of the Altenian army. The Queen of Reason sat expressionless on her throne, something that had not become unexpected, while Guren himself addressed those that had gathered in their presence.

"My people, it is now plain for all to see that the mana in the world is starting to disappear. For the people of Altena this is a dire emergency!" The red wizard spoke powerfully, his voice and posture brimming with confidence. "We can't live in a frozen climate, however there is hope. In order to protect our country, we must go to the forbidden mana holy land and obtain the sword of mana!"

Those familiar with the lore behind "the sword of mana" began whispering to each other with bemusement and concern etched upon their faces, as it was not something they had expected to hear. It was an impractical suggestion, one that the vast majority of the people would not understand or put their faith in, but thus far Guren had not made a single error in his reformation of Altena's government, and none who were in the room would dare to raise a voice against him.

Guren raised his right hand to call for silence, and continued with his speech. "We can open the gate to the holy land if we possess the eight mana stones. We don't think every country will be so willing to accommodate us with this plan of course..."

Guren turned his head down in consideration for a moment, then raised it again to meet the eyes of everyone in the room. "That is why we will use our powers to invade those countries and take their mana stones by force."

That single line brought a simultaneous mix of horror and elation from the crowd. Those in the military were finally going to be given the chance to put their long years of training to good use, but those who were invested in peace, trade and politics between kingdoms would surely soon find themselves discarded by Guren and the Queen just like so many others before them.

Guren continued, now speaking solely to the soldiers and commanders in the room, disregarding completely the stupefied expressions of the civilians. "The war will be long and difficult, but in the end, the world will be united in a glorious magic empire! And with the sword of mana in our Queen's hands, spring will return to Altena at last!"

The military minded portion of the room snapped to attention and with hearts full of pride, belted out praise for their Queen.

"_Long live the Queen of Reason!_"

Angela stared at the door leading to the throne room, her hand pressed up against the heavy wooden panels, feeling the coarseness of its natural texture. Behind that door was everything she wanted to avoid, and yet everything she so desperately wanted. If only there was some way she could walk through this door and become happy, she would gladly have left it behind her long ago.

Now she had been summoned before her mother, and she wanted to run away, to not have to listen to whatever disappointment her mother wanted to foist upon her, and to avoid the empty eyes of that man whom had taken the place of her friend.

Angela hadn't spoken to Guren once since that day he had tried to force himself on her. And whenever they had passed in the hallways of the palace she had been unable to meet his eyes, only to shiver unconsciously as he walked by. She knew it just from that feeling alone, there was no warmth left in that man, he had become cold, distant to her, just another extension of her mother's ice cold personality.

Swallowing her fears, for ignoring this summons would certainly do her harm in the future, Angela gently eased the door open and slipped inside. It was deathly quiet, aside from a few quiet shuffles from the representatives gathered at the end of the throne room.

Angela passed them by with quick strides, yet despite their speed, the movements of her legs seemed somewhat awkward and hesitant. There were a few murmurs about 'the princess' choice of dress again today' but by this time Angela had become accustomed the disapproving comments of those around her, and had learned to put them out of her mind completely.

"Y-you called for me, mother?" Angela stammered, fighting the reflexive urge to curtsey, something which had been drilled into her as a child, and instead opted to drop to one knee like a common servant, illiciting yet more murmurs from the crowd gathered behind her.

"Angela," Guren began, his empty eyes threatening to draw in the very light of day itself, "I will explain. In order to open the gate to the mana holyland..."

'_Stop! You can't do this to her, it's not too late to use somebody else!_' The plea rushing through Guren's mind went unanswered, he didn't even pause, just continued to glare at Angela, the feeling of impending satisfaction brightening his demeanour.

"We must begin an invasion of every country to possess their mana stones."

'D_on't do this to her. Don't you want her to love you? If you do this you will lose her forever._'

"Legend has it that when the energy of all the world's mana stones is freed... the gate to the mana holy land will be opened. We will begin by releasing the energy from the mana stone in Altena." Guren concluded, his normally nonchalant lips curled into a thin smile.

"But, how?" Angela asked, raising her head to finally look Guren in the eye.

The Queen of Reason rose from her chair, looking down on her daughter, her eyes cold and full of contempt. It was plain for Angela to see, plain for anyone to see, that her mother was about to say something terrible to her.

"By using sealed magic that, until now, has been forbidden. A spell that takes the life of the caster. However it is not yet time for Guren or myself to die. Therefore, your body will be used as a means to channel the spell. If we sacrifice your life, we will be able to release the energy from the mana stone." The Queen of Reason spoke matter of factly, as if everything she had said was beyond logical doubt.

"H-How could you! Mother!" Angela fell back with surprise, she was prepared for something bad but had never imagined it could be anything like this.

'_**STOP!**_'

Guren flinched suddenly, the smile on his face draining away, and he buried his forehead in his right palm, clamping his eyelids tight to fight the sudden onset of pain. The overpowering sensation that told him this was what Angela deserved for rejecting him was clashing with something else. An urgent scream, reaching out from the buried depths of his old life, telling him that no matter what, he could not allow anything to happen to Angela, not to the one he loved so much.

The Queen of Reason pointed a long slender finger at her daughter, who was cowering on the floor before her mother, her eyes brimming with tears. "You who cannot use magic are the shame of this royal family! If you are remembered as a user of such powerful magic, it would be a fitting demise!"

Guren's eye snapped open, sparkling crystal blue, staring to the floor throught the cracks between his fingers. His teeth set firmly together, snarling at the sudden realization of exactly what he was doing.

"N-no!" Angela cried out, trying to retreat from her mother by crawling backwards.

Guren's hands disappeared inside his cloak, and he began frantically chanting under his breath while his hands danced behind his back, forming symbols and patterns in a well practised pattern. A spell that was just discreet enough to hide from all the eyes that were focused intently on the terrified princess.

Angela screamed loudly as her mother drew closer, but her voice was drowned out by a sudden hum in the air which drew quickly to a deafening and blinding crescendo of noise and white light. And in an instant it cleared, the Queen and her subjects were left observing empty space where the princess had been cowering in the face of her mother.

The Queen of Reason stared silently at the spot her daughter had just occupied, her face still blank and cold. Guren withdrew a hand from his cloak and cradled his throbbing forehead. No matter what, he couldn't let anybody find out what he'd just done, especially not 'him'.

Angela groaned and shifted around in the snow, gradually drawing herself to her feet. She found herself suddenly outside the palace, outside the city itself, behind her were the imposing stone walls of Altena and before her was endless expanse of white stretching out as far as the eye could see and far, far beyond. Immediately the biting cold of the sub zero snowfield began to eat into her skin and she reflexively crossed her arms over the exposed portion of her chest.

"Where am I? Outside the city... but... why? I can't go back to the castle any more... What should I do now?" Angela wondered aloud, her body shivering uncontrollably as the last ounces of warmth were drawn out of it.

Angela trudged from the castle, physically tired and emotionally empty, and over the frozen stream, not even noticing she had passed by the spot where she and Guren had met for the first time. It looked different now, buried in snow with bare trees that had perished with the shrinking of the barrier. And it was too cold to concentrate on such things, far too cold.

The further Angela got from Altena, the colder her surroundings became. There was no sound from the city, none of the familiar, reassuring noise of people going about their daily lives. Only the constant howl of wind sweeping over the frozen tundra.

"Too cold... I can't walk... I want to go home... Mother... Guren..." Angela fell in place, not even a mile from the city gates, her scant clothing afforded her no protection from the elements outside the comfortable environment she was accustomed to. And so she lay there, perfectly prone, unable to do anything but wait to die.

A sudden shimmer of light accompanied with a shower of sparks erupted in the air above Angela, though she wasn't conscious to witness it. Air rushed away from the light as a body emerged from it, displacing the surrounding particles. The familiar red travelling cloak of Guren the red wizard billowed in the rushing wind, and he floated down to Angela's side. In his hand he held a gnarled wizard's staff carved from the branch of a tree, he thrust it down hard into the snowy ground so that he would have both hands free. Kneeling next to her, Guren scooped his princess up in to his arms without hesitation, cradling her like something precious he had been searching for all his life and had finally discovered.

"Princess..." He spoke softly, his voice heavy with regret.

Guren took her in close to his body, wrapping both of them together in the spacious red robe. Guren could feel the sheer cold of her body even through his black tunic, and he squeezed her in tightly, trying his best to distribute his body heat to her.

"Gu...ren...?" Angela stirred, as the warmth returned to her body, and she opened her eyes to the see a untidy mop of blonde hair blowing out in front of her, but the face was hidden as it hung over her shoulder trying to keep her warm.

"Sleep." Guren turned his head slightly and whispered in her ear.

Angela had no resistance to magic, and her eyes fluttered as the inviting embrace of the sleep spell swept over her. Guren stood, still holding Angela warm and snug against his chest only her head was visible, propped up against his shoulder and the tips of her feet as they dangled from the hem of the heavy robe.

Guren held out a hand to the staff he had dug into the ground, it shuddered and sprang into his waiting grip, and he held it close to Angela so as not to let the cloak fall open.

And so he began walking the snow covered path away from Altena.

"I'm sorry, Princess." He said, finding it necessary to express himself even if he no longer felt he had the right to be close to Angela. "I'm sorry that I let it come to this. But it's too late for me to go back, because I can no longer disobey him."

Guren spoke to her over the few hours it took to walk from Altena to Elrand, though he knew the story was mostly for his own benefit. And he recounted all the terrible things he had done since returning to Altena, all the things he had done in the name of the Dragon Emperor.

"I wish I could tell you all this for real." Guren sighed, squeezing her tightly again, the skies now growing dark as the day was coming to an end. "But I don't want to burden you with my pain, when you already have enough of your own..."

In the distance Guren could see the lights of Elrand, his home, and right now the only place he really wanted to be, because that was where Angela was going to be from now on.

"It's impossible..." He said, and he placed Angela gently back on the snow, along with the staff he had brought with him. Removing his cloak, Guren knelt to the Princess' side once more, and carefully wrapped her in the thick red material. "There's a little bit of my magic in there for you... It's different from normal Altenian magic so... Who knows... Maybe it will be enough to get you started."

Guren spread his arm out to the side, a jet of flame racing from his outstretched fingers and setting one of the evergreen trees Elrand was famous for into a blazing fireball.

"Someone will come to investigate this soon so... I can't stay with you. Even if I wanted to... he'd just find us and we'd never stop running." Guren looked at the hand he had just used to set the tree alight and grimaced in disgust. "I wish we could go back... But I hope that you never see me again, because the next time you do, there probably won't be any 'me' left."

Already Guren could hear worried shouts approaching from the direction of Elrand and he gathered his feelings to say goodbye to her one last time. And so... he kissed her gently on the lips, briefly and sweetly not wanting to leave any evidence that he had been there, that the he had done such a thing to her without her permission.

"I love you." He said, withdrawing from her and pulling himself to his feet. "Goodbye..."

Angela's eyes fluttered open briefly, to see Guren walking away from her, looking strangely naked without the red cloak wrapping around him. But the spell was too much for her to fight, and before she could call out his name, she was already sleeping again, and Guren himself had already disappeared into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

-The Eighth Year-

The Dragon Emperor stood tall on a dais overlooking a charred and gutted cavern that had once been home to a strong clan of dragons, the strongest of the strong, his own kin, the emperors of all dragons. These dragons had once been feared and adored, respected and reviled, the very utterance of their names had been enough to wrench on the mortal souls of all the races in this world and the next.

With a reputation for blood and terror as great as theirs had been, it was perhaps inevitable that those seeking to overturn and surpass that legacy would appear. And indeed they did come, men clad in gold, with ferocious strength and overwhelming numbers. Specialized dragon killers had invaded every crevice, every nook and cranny of the Dragon's hole, until every last wyrm in their path had been obliterated.

Now there was only one left, and the last dragon emperor had turned the world on its side and had vanquished all the powers that stood in his way. Everything had been done in anticipation of this moment, so that he may become a god and return the world to its rightful place under the rule of his ancient kin folk.

The sword of mana felt light in the Dragon Emperor's slim, claw-like hands, the antiquated object's unremarkable appearance belied the terrifying power which had been imbued into it. The streamlined blade was now all that stood between the last of the dragons and the essence and power of the eight most powerful demons to ever stalk the mortal realm.

The princess of Altena could only watch helplessly as the the Dragon Emperor ran a skeletal finger down the blade's edge, staining its pristine surface with a deep, dark streak of red. Angela wanted to run to the sword, to tear it from the Dragon Emperor's grasp, but she was unable to advance on her goal. Between Angela and the Dragon Emperor, stood the man she had once yearned to see day after day, and now she wished he could be anywhere... Anywhere but here with her.

"Stop!" Angela cried out, her eyes imploring the man in the red wizard's robe to reconsider his alliance with the growing calamity behind him.

"You..." Guren spoke nonchalantly, the eyes he fixed on Angela were empty and cold.

"Let them be, Guren." The Dragon Emperor laughed haughtily. "Let them witness the moment I am reborn."

"Please stop!" A tiny voice called out from a ball of light that hung over the shoulder of one of Angela's companions, a knight and swordsman whose eyes bored into the red wizard with seething hatred.

"In this sword lies the power of the eight god beasts." The Dragon Emperor raised his chin with pride, the blood with which he had stained the holy sword had already begun to eat into the metal, releasing a black miasma composed of each of the eight demons imprisoned within. The misty flow banked and coiled into the Dragon's emperor's body, like a serpent slithering into a bottomless dark hole.

"The sword is no more!" The Dragon Emperor proclaimed, as the last of the mana sword dissolved into nothingness. "All the power of a god now within me-…!" The Dragon Emperor's words trailed off suddenly as if something had grasped his throat, forcing him to be silent.

"... My lord?" Guren turned to observe the Dragon Emperor.

"The light... Such intense light that I cannot see..." The Dragon Emperor droned quietly. "...**YOU!**"

The Dragon Emperor's eyes flared a violent, bloody red, his booming voice distorting into a low draconic roar which seemed to blow away the very will of everyone that could hear it.

"**Goddess, you never know when to give up! This foolish attempt to stop me will fail! I shall cut down the Mana Tree, and that will be the end of it!**"

"Go ahead... I'll stay here and eliminate these... things." Guren waved his hand dismissively at the trio of heroes behind him, then turned to eye Angela and her companions, the swordsman and child cleric.

"**Do it quickly.**" The Dragon Emperor said absently, his mind already far from concerned with the trifling struggles of lesser beings. And just as abruptly, his body faded into the blackness, and he was gone.

Angela's hands trembled as she watched the wizard, whom now stood alone before her. His golden blonde hair hung in familiar ragged clumps all around his face, it was looking worse for wear after a year of travel, warfare and neglect.

"My sweet Princess..." Guren smiled warmly at Angela for the briefest of moments once the Dragon Emperor's presence had vanished, before twisting his face once again into a leer that yearned for blood. "I'll be sure to make it quick for _you_!"

Before Angela had a chance to formulate a response, the swordsman at her side had already taken up his blade and charged toward the Red Wizard. "For everyone in Forcena that died because _YOU_!" He screamed as he rushed in, the point of his sword set for the wizard's heart.

Guren grinned maniacally and spread both his arms out wide, sending his cape billowing in the air behind him. With the tools of his trade now exposed to the elements, Guren began chanting and cutting symbols into the air with tremendous speed, creating a blur of light and sound that only served to spur the swordsman on with greater determination.

A thousand tiny water droplets formed in the air around, Guren and were quickly drawn into his hands as if they were magnetic. The droplets converged into shimmering orbs of water that boiled and swirled around his balling fists.

The swordsman lost sight of his target suddenly as a lancing torrent of water struck him in the chest, sending him hurtling backwards into the wall of the Dragon Emperor's underground palace, knocking the wind right out of him.

"Duran!" Angela cried in unison with the cleric as the swordsman fell from the wall, bringing several chunks of ebony stone down with him. "Charlotte, take care of him." Angela nodded to the little girl that was doing her best not to let her fear overwhelm her.

"Hahahahaha!" Guren mocked Duran as the little girl used her powers to ease the fatigue and injury caused by both impacts. "I humbled you before with my magic, and I'll do it again!" Guren chided as he hurled the second sphere of water out before him, watching it dart toward his diminutive target.

Angela placed herself between her companions and the red wizard's malicious gloating, striking the lancing torrent with her staff. The blow dispelled the magic that kept the dagger like flow consistent, and it shattered back into it's component parts, sending a thousand tiny droplets glinting like diamonds flying in all directions.

The staff in Angela's hands caught Guren's attention, and his eyes narrowed on the weapon and in turn back on her. It was the same gnarled wand that he had left with her a year ago, just as this long war had been put into motion. It was showing obvious signs of wear and abuse, Angela had clearly taken to the habit of using it as a club rather than the magical weapon Guren had intended it to be. A quiet voice in the back of Guren's mind thought; '_That's just like her to be so straightforward and honest even in the most inappropriate of ways._'

Before the spectre of that thought had registered with his conscious mind, Guren's fingers were already hard at work carving out the symbols for his next spell, the most pressing matter on his mind was the swordsman called Duran once again being on his feet, his intense feelings of hatred toward Guren flooding the chamber.

The seemingly endless battle drew out the best of both sides. Angela, Duran, and Charlotte proved the merits of coordinated team work. Charlotte providing support, Angela doing her best to nullify the effects of Guren's magical onslaughts with her new found power, and Duran's sword chasing the red wizard through the cavernous chamber, seeking nothing short of a killing blow.

Guren, despite being outnumbered, danced his away around his opponents, one step too quick for the sword, one hand gesture too fast for Angela's spells, as if every move they made had been nothing but a choreographed routine on the wizard's stage.

The single undeniable fact however, was that Guren was alone, and while he was surely powerful, he was surely just as mortal as the hundreds of Forcenites he had slaughtered in the war. With the Darkshine Knight gone, the Dragon Emperor had surely left Guren to die alone against a superior force, and all too soon the undeniable truth of his mortality was sure to catch up with him.

Guren's fingers slipped off the glowing rune he was carving in mid air, ruining the spell and leaving him prone to to the jagged diamond missile that had sprouted from the cavern ceiling and was hurtling toward him courtesy of Angela's incantation.

Angela's eyes widened with horror at the realization at what was taking place before her eyes, the crystalline spear streaking out toward the helpless wizard. Angela felt the urge to stop it, to call the spell back before it met its mark, but she was helpless to stop the event already set forward. She watched the scene as if it were slow motion, the tip of the diamond spear penetrated Guren's right shoulder knocking him off balance and leaving him open to Duran's waiting sword which cut a deep gash across his chest sending him sprawling in the dirty, ash laden, cavern floor.

The swordsman intended his triumphant face to be the last thing the red wizard would ever see, preparing to plunge his blade into Guren's still beating heart.

"Stop!" Angela called out, causing Duran to hesitate. "Don't kill him!"

"We can't let him live! Not after everything he's done!" Duran protested angrily, holding the tip of his sword to Guren's chest.

"I said _stop_!" Angela insisted, with all the authority one would expect from a Princess. "It's not his fault!"

"How-how could I lose?! This power... This power is _absolute_!" Guren gurgled and crawled backwards away from the point of Duran's waiting sword. "I... can still...!"

"Guren, you can't win! Not as long as you're a servant of that thing!" Angela dropped to her knees and held out her hand to him, wanting to pull him out of the dirt and have Charlotte heal him. "It's not too late, if you come back with us now, we can help you." It was the last thing she wanted to see, but from the look in Guren's eyes, it now seemed impossible for him to disobey his master.

"I just wanted to use magic... that's all. I only wanted... to be someone worthy of..." Guren cried out, his voice strained and disjointed from the pain cutting into his upper body. "That old man... the other students... how could they understand my pain... The Dragon Emperor told me... that I'd be the most powerful wizard that ever lived! All he wanted was a piece of my soul! Just a piece! ... But look at me now... I'm a failure... I don't deserve you... and I don't deserve to live!" Guren used his remaining good arm to haul himself to his feet, propping himself up against the lower wall of the Dragon Emperor's palace.

Guren's hand sprang into motion, still as energetic as it had been throughout the battle and carved a series of glowing runes into the air before him, which suddenly turned dark as if they were sucking in all the light around them.

"NO!" Angela protested once she recognized the spell those runes were used to incant, throwing herself forward to tackle Guren out of the spell's area of effect.

"Angela!" Duran shouted grasping her by the waist and hauling her back away from the wizard.

"Let me go! Let me GO!" Angela sobbed, putting all her energy into struggling futilely against Duran's muscular arms.

The area around Guren warped and a circle of darkness spread out from beneath his feet, threatening to envelop the trio if they came too close.

"In the end... I'm glad at least it was you that stopped me. Goodbye... Thank you... Angela." Guren spoke softly and gave her one last look at the warm smile she had known for so many years, but perhaps for the first time that look was filled with sadness.

The ring of darkness around Guren sprang into the air and solidified into a black sphere, before finally contracting in on him, the dark energy within the bubble coming to a screeching crescendo as it was forced closer and closer together, before finally exploding in a ball of white flame.

It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but the awful pain of watching him trapped within that spell was something Angela would never forget. Angela screamed out hysterically as blackened pieces of stone and searing hot air were hurled out of the blast.

In the end, there was nothing left for Angela to mourn but a few scraps of red cloth and the charred outline of Guren's body, permanently etched onto the palace wall.


	9. Chapter 9

-The Ninth Year-

"_**HOPE!? I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW POWERLESS YOUR 'HOPE' REALLY IS!**_"

For the first time in the history of Altena, the eternal spring had given way to the onset of an arctic winter. The Dragon Emperor's last words had rung true for the northern kingdom, and the rapid decline of the world's last remaining mana had stripped the magic city of everything that had made it what it was.

For every country, and every city, something had been lost in the war, be it citizens, or troops, or worldly wealth, but the magic kingdom had been the only country to lose its very soul. Without magic to maintain the barrier of perpetual spring, the sub-zero snowfield had begun to crawl its way throughout the sprawling city, devouring homes and the delicate balance of life which had been maintained over centuries.

After destroying the Dragon Emperor and putting an end to his ambition for all time, Angela had firmly believed that the hope which had seen her through that terrible battle would be enough to keep the city of Altena alive for centuries to come. However it seemed that hope, like magic, had taken flight from Altena and entered a thousand year slumber.

Once it had become clear that the kingdom could not be saved without the aid of magic, the noble families had been the first to leave. Using their considerable wealth and connections to the outside world, most had bought themselves new lives in Byzel, Jad, or Forcena, leaving the dying city as a distant problem of little concern.

Though most of the ordinary citizens had resolved to stay, like their Princess they believed that Altena would come through any hardship stronger than before, the situation inside the city walls was becoming increasingly dire. Two vicious snowstorms had already ripped through the town, burying unsuspecting citizens alive in their homes, demolishing trees and architecture that had stood for centuries.

Whatever patriotic optimism the Altenians had been holding on to had been worn away by the harsh conditions of the environment around them, and eventually the Queen of Reason had no choice but to order that the country of Altena be dissolved, and its citizens moved to safety.

The Queen of Reason herself had fallen gravely ill, with the world's mana gone for a thousand years, the queen had resorted to using her own life force to sustain the barrier around the kingdom, and with two disasters having broken through, it had become clear to those remaining in the palace that Angela's mother did not have long left to live.

Thus it was on the eve of Angela's twenty first birthday, that she ceased being the Princess of Altena.

-

Angela sobbed quietly into the foot of her mother's bed, and all others present in the queen's chambers hung their heads in silent grief as the royal physician reluctantly hid the queen's peaceful, beautiful, yet drained features beneath her bed covers. The only other sound in the room was the sound of a large fireplace roaring at the foot of the chamber.

In just one short year, Angela's mother had expressed herself more openly to her daughter than ever before. With Guren no longer in control of the queen's actions, and Angela having accomplished so much in the year they had been apart, the two of them had finally begun to discover one another, and for the first time in her life, had truly become a mother to her daughter.

Like her daughter, she had fought a battle of sorts. To keep her country alive through its most difficult crisis, the Queen of Reason had done her duty until the very end. And now the last queen of Altena had passed into the next world.

It was a crystal clear night sky outside, the stars and moon bathed the castle in their silver rays, the air was calm and not a flake of snow disturbed the field of blooming light through the queen's window.

One by one, the queen's faithful followers filtered from the room, leaving the princess to grieve for her mother in peace, and Angela continued to sob into the bedsheets long after she had been left alone at her mother's side. It seemed cruel to Angela for the affection she had longed for all her life to be stolen from her so abruptly.

The Dragon Emperor had taken Guren from her, turned him into a murderous monster, felled the tree of life which propagated the flow of mana throughout the world, robbing her of the gift of magic which she had striven so hard to obtain, robbing her of the kingdom she had given everything to protect, and now her mother who had given herself to prolong the life of a country doomed by his selfish machinations. The wellspring of hope in Angela's heart was all but dry, and now it seemed there was nothing left for her.

As her sobs quietened to whimpers and sniffles, Angela considered again everything that had led them to this moment. She considered returning to Forcena, to speak again with King Richard and Duran. The king had known things about her mother that she herself had not been aware of, and there was a lot she still wanted to know about the woman who had always been so far away.

Despite the time she had spent with her mother, Angela had missed travelling on the open road with Duran and Charlotte, and all the friends they had met along the way. Duran was now likely questing for the king as knight of gold, and even though she could no longer use magic, she could still fight, maybe she would be able to join with him again.

'_Maybe that's what I'll do._' Angela thought, staring across the rippled bed sheets to her mother's peaceful body. '_I'll go to Forcena._'

Through the window, there was a gentle ringing carried on the air. Not the sound of a bell, but the similar sound of metal sliding against metal. The sound was rhythmic like a footstep, and although faint, in the silent night it was enough to make Angela's sensitive elven ears reflexively twitch in response.

Rising from her place at the bedside, Angela wiped her flushed and tear stained face clean, and paced unsteadily to the window. The sound was ringing out from the courtyard of the magic academy in the middle of the city, near the goddess fountain in the town square which had frozen over. Angela hugged the thick folds of Guren's old travelling cloak against herself as the cold winter air invaded the room from the open window, the fire roaring at the foot of the room was not enough to stop the cruel advance of Altena's true face.

'_I wonder what they're doing there..._' Angela mused internally, the reference library and the magic academy had become abandoned since the decline of mana, and the entrance had since been buried under a wall of snow and ice.

Angela shook her head and turned back to her mother, her expression heavy with grief. Kneeling by her mother's side once again, Angela peeled back the covers to burn the image of her mother's face into her mind. Then, pinning her ear back, Angela lay her head on her mother's chest and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, mother." Angela whispered, "When you meet him... Please don't blame him too much."

-

The Queen of Reason's funeral was a simple and hurried affair. Her body was entombed in a vault below the castle, where all the other members of the royal family had been given their final resting place. The Queen of Reason would be the last person to ever rest inside, and with that both the tomb and castle doors were sealed. Altena's legacy would remain buried in snow, forever.

Angela and the last of Altena's inhabitants were gathered near the front gate of the city walls, the last of the stubborn citizens had been rounded up and all of the remaining palace staff and soldiers were ready to embark on the dangerous winter trip to Elrand.

A general of the former Altenian army placed himself on one knee before Angela whom was sitting high atop a mount she had been given for the journey. "My Queen," He began, "The Altenian army has prepared temporary lodgings for you in Elrand. As soon as we arrive, we will petition Elrand's ruling council for permission to establish a permanent settlement in the south."

Angela responded to her general with a brief look of pain, but instantly switched to a forced and unconvincing smile. "A Queen can't be a Queen without a kingdom."

"But my lady," the General protested, "we are all confident that you will continue to lead us well. There are many already in Elrand who are awaiting your arrival."

"I'm not a leader, General." Angela responded, her style of speech suddenly and uncharacteristically mature, "In a world without magic, I have no business leading anyone. The only one I would trust to lead and organize our people now, is you."

"But- My lady!" The General peered upwards at a loss for words.

"Ah'm tellin' ye'! Ah' saw 'em with me own eyes, Ah' did!" A heated discussion between a guard captain and an old man from the central district of the city were arguing heatedly not too far from the General and the Princess. Their intensifying argument gradually gaining the attention of those around them.

Angela approached the arguing duo on her mount, with her flustered General still in tow, fully prepared to pass by without paying them any mind.

"It were the red wizard, it were! I saw 'em me'self!" The old man continued to blather, and the mention of the name caused Angela to pull back hard on the reigns of her mount.

"W-what did you say?!" Angela snapped at the man who ceased his arguing with the guard captain and stared at Angela.

The guard captain turned and began rapidly bowing in apology to Angela. "My Queen! I'm sorry! Please don't pay any mind, he's just making things up because he doesn't want to leave!"

Angela drove the mount closer to the old man, not interested in the slightest by the guard's frantic apologizing. "Tell me what you saw." Angela demanded, her eyes boring into the old man's wrinkled face.

"Princess! It were the red wizard, Guren!" The old man proclaimed, "I saw 'em at them there magic school! 'Im and another wizard, both usin' magic they were! Took down that there wall of ice like it were an ol' door. Come back t'save Altena, like ah knew e' would!"

Angela turned her head to one of the palace wizards who had begun rapidly sifting through her spell book as soon as the old man had mentioned someone using magic. The wizard closed her eyes and began muttering an incantation under her breath, and then... nothing happened. The wizard snapped the book shut hard and stamped her foot with frustration, casting an evil look in the old man's direction.

Even though it had disappointed her to uncover the old man's lie, Angela considered him again for a second. He seemed to genuinely believe that he had seen someone using magic, and she had heard something odd going on in the direction of the magic academy the night her mother passed away. Angela didn't want to get her hopes up, what if it was a lie, or a trick? Was seeing Guren again worth risking that kind of heartbreak?

Angela smirked to herself briefly, then held a serious expression together as best she could, a little glint of her customary love for mischief returning to her tired eyes. At first she began muttering under her breath in the same fashion the palace wizard had, but nobody around her could have known that she was chanting nonsense and not an actual incantation, she held a finger out toward the old man at arm's length and shouted with all the strength her lungs could muster; "FIREBA~LL!"

"My lady!" The General by her side exclaimed in horror, fully expecting the man to be suddenly consumed by fire.

The old man ducked for cover and cowered in the snow, absolutely convinced he was about to get incinerated... but of course... nothing happened. The guard Captain turned back angrily on the shaking old man and began ranting. "You see! If the Crimson Lotus were still ALIVE, where is he now? Why isn't the barrier back up? Don't you dare waste our QUEEN's time with your lies!"

A few of the remaining palace wizards began laughing at the old man getting lectured while cowering in the snow, convinced it was a fitting punishment for trying to mislead their fragile hopes, and that would be the end of his madness. But the old man popped his head out from behind his arms and looked up at the guard captain angrily.

"Ah ain't lyin' boy!" The old man spat angrily, and began waving his fist in the air. "Said they was goin' ta Wendel they did, heard 'em me'self! An' they'll come back an save Altena ah know it!"

"For the last time-!" The guard Captain's voice jumped up several octaves, but he was promptly cut off by Angela.

"I'm going back in." Angela stated, and before any of her attendants had a chance to object, she pulled on the reigns of her mount, making a half circle before promptly taking off toward the central square and the entrance to the magic academy.

By the time the General and her attendants had caught up to her. Angela was already off her mount and surveying the entrance to the old stone building. The ice had indeed been removed, and the academy's doors were splintered and broken, having been blown apart from the outside. Everyone stared in disbelief, there was no way one old man would have been capable of doing all this just to fabricate such a useless lie.

"General..." Angela started as the man joined her at the gateway, "I won't be staying in Elrand with you."

"Then... You're really going to go and look for him?" He asked, unsure at this point what the best course of action would be.

Angela shook her head, "It can't be him... I saw him... But I..." Angela bit on her lip hard in attempt to stop the tears that were welling in the corners of her eyes, only causing herself to bleed, and hugged the red travelling cloak tight around her body. "Once we are settled in Elrand, I... I have to go to Wendel."


	10. Chapter 10

-The Last Year-

The holy city was covered in a fresh, crisp layer of late winter white, and gentle flakes of ice water drifted down from a peaceful silver sky. Snow had come to Wendel, and the arriving Altenian royal party was feeling a little nostalgic for their home, abandoned in the wastes of the frozen north.

After leaving old Altena, the remaining loyal citizens had founded a new Altena south of Elrand, on the border of the mystic forest. The conditions there were still a little frigid by Altenian standards, but it was at least more comfortable than living in the depths of the sub zero snowfield. It had been a hard first year establishing the new settlement, but finally the new kingdom of Altena had stood up and put its first foot forward in its bid for rebirth.

Outside Wendel's main temple, a great crowd had gathered to see the queen of the new Altenian nation. But the queen herself wasn't interested in meeting and greeting the people of Wendel, or at least not all of them. As a score of Altenian soldiers held the crowd back from the temple grounds, Angela had tracked down the one person she knew wouldn't be able to lie to her.

"B-Baww..." The little cleric girl, Charlotte, shifted her weight from foot to foot, her unusual, bobbled head gear swaying from side to side as she fidgeted uncomfortably.

Wearing her mother's silken, white robes, and flanked by two Altenian soldiers and an attendant, Angela cut an imposing figure glaring down at the little girl, who stared awkwardly back at her.

"Charlotte, if you know something and you're not telling me. I will hang you upside down and shake you for a week until you tell the truth!" Angela snapped and pointed the bulky end of her wizard's staff at the uncomfortable little girl.

"Majesty!" Angela's attendant protested. "Please, the proper decorum."

"Y-you're so mean, Angie! C-Carlie doesn't know anything!" Charlotte's eyes welled with tears and her lips trembled as they pursed tightly together.

Angela placed her hands on her hips and leant over, bringing her face level with Charlotte's. "Tell me, Charlotte!"

Charlotte shrank back and her eyes swam with forming tears. "But but Heath said Carlie shouldn't tell Angie, no matter what."

Angela smiled sweetly and patted the girl on the head, pushing her hat down playfully over her eyes. "That's okay, Charlotte. If that's what he said, you don't have to tell me."

Angela straightened herself again and set her eyes on the temple. She had only briefly met Heath after returning from vanquishing the Dragon Emperor. Heath had lost his life at the hands of Guren in the holy land, but had been given a rebirth of sorts from the mana goddess herself, before the holy land had descended into its thousand years of slumber.

Even though their meeting had been so brief, Angela remembered it in vivid detail. She remembered the escalating feeling of jealousy toward Charlotte as Heath described the favour the mana goddess had shown him by restoring him to life. After everything that had happened, Angela thought she was the only one who had lost everything defending the world from the triad of forces that threatened to tear it asunder.

It wasn't strictly true she knew that much at least. Duran had been forced to kill all that remained of his father, something he would likely never forget, but even Duran still had his family, his kingdom, and his precious knighthood. The valkrie, Riesz, had regained her younger brother, which had conveniently been the result of Guren, and Duran's father, Loki, having slaughtered the followers of the Dark Prince, only so the Dragon Emperor could take his place. The Thief of Navarre had been able to save the one that he loved, and even that ridiculous beast man had been reunited with the wolf pup he adored so much.

But Heath having been raised from the dead, had been a slight Angela had not been able to forgive. Even after Heath and Carlie had returned to their lives, she had waited on that balcony hoping to see 'him'. Even after returning to Altena, every knock on her door had sent her heart racing with the thought that this time it might be him waiting on the other side. But it never had been him, and her hope had gradually faded away, seemingly with her mother's life.

Now there was another chance, a good chance that the world could finally pay its due to her. And right now, there was nothing she wanted more than to see his face.

It took a while for Charlotte to fully realize she had inadvertently given Angela exactly what she wanted, but by that time Angela had already started taking confident strides toward the main temple.

The young priest Heath was waiting for Angela at temple gate, and he bowed low to her as she drew nearer.

"Your majesty." Heath said with reverence, "I welcome you on behalf of the Priest of Light to the holy city of Wendel."

"Where is he?" Angela's rather direct and rude question had her attendant's eyes bulging out of their sockets in disbelief. All the training Angela had gone through for the sake of etiquette and protocol had seemingly been thrown straight out into the nearest refuse pile.

Heath froze in mid bow, not entirely unsurprised that Charlotte had been completely unable to deceive her friend. "Please, come with me. There is a lot we need to talk about..." Heath raised his head and sighed apologetically.

- _Five Hours Earlier_ -

In the holy city of Wendel there is a grand temple, where priests, healers, and scholars gather together to offer guidance, aid, and knowledge to all those whom would need it. In the lowest level of this temple, there is a room to which nobody goes. The room itself is very nondescript, with plain walls, slit windows to the ground above its ceiling, and scant natural light, a cell of the most torturous kind. In this room there is a man that spends his days and nights wracked with agonizing pain.

An acolyte of the temple emerged from the room, holding a tray loaded with food, untouched and unspoiled, perfectly fit for eating. The acolyte, was noticeably disturbed, and gave a solemn look to a second figure waiting just outside the door.

"Master Heath..." The acolyte bowed his head slightly, "He still refuses to eat, but he asks if he can be brought more parchment and ink."

Heath was a young priest with soft, silver-white hair, and a pale, slim frame adorned in a simple white tunic. Over the past two years he had become a caretaker of sorts to the man whom had taken up residence in the temple's basement.

"I understand." Heath nodded to the Acolyte and held out his hands for the tray. "Please return to your duties."

The Acolyte handed the tray over to Heath, bowed once and disappeared up a set of stairs to the temple foyer.

Heath approached the open door and held in his breath to prepare himself for the sight inside, and made a quick step across the threshold into his charge's lair.

"Close the door and leave me be." The man stated simply, busying himself carving an odd set of runes into the brickwork of the depressing room.

Heath ignored the request, and set down the tray of food on a low table, nearly upsetting a tower of books, parchment and dry ink wells.

"You must eat, Guren." Heath insisted, staring into the back of the man's head.

The man stopped what he was doing and turned to regard Heath. The red wizard of Altena's face was half hidden behind a sheet of matted blonde hair, narrowed his one visible vibrant blue eye at the young priest before returning to his work without saying a word.

"If you do not eat, you will die." Heath insisted.

Guren's fingers worked faster, scraping and digging into the wall, flakes and particles of stone coming away consistently with each movement. Trying to drown out the sound of the priest's soft yet insistent voice.

"And you must sleep as well, Guren." Heath continued, regarding a bed crammed into a corner of the small room, it too sporting a dangerously high stack of books and papers.

"Leave me." Guren droned, "I need to concentrate."

"Guren, you must eat, and you must rest. It has already been two years now Guren, another night of rest will not impede your efforts."

Guren stopped what he was doing, and his shoulders slumped and he tensed his hand against the wall, subjecting himself to the barely painful sensation of the jagged carvings cutting into his finger tips.

"Eating only makes it worse, you know that." Guren continued to drone, the effort of speaking seemed more of a bother to him than anything else he was doing. "I just want it to go away. If I keep working... I know I'll figure it out."

"Guren... Some would call what you have a blessing. Now that the mana of the world is gone, you are the only wizard left in the world that can still-"

"THIS IS NOT A BLESSING!" Guren turned violently and snapped at the priest, pulling down one of the black sleeves of his battered and worn robes. Guren's left arm was covered in hard, red scales that disappeared inside his robe, already extending to untold parts of his body and threatening to overtake his hand as well.

Heath remained unphased by Guren's outburst, and merely nodded in acceptance. "Two years ago you came to this temple, you were on the verge of death and you asked for our help. I made a promise to you that I would help you, but I cannot help you if you kill yourself through deprivation."

"I can still feel him inside my mind." Guren's apathetic calm returned, and he resumed scraping at the wall. "If I lose my body as well..."

"Guren..." Heath sighed, "The Dragon Emperor is-"

"I know." Guren interrupted. "I know he's gone forever. But his blood is in me, and the hole he left in my soul is still filled with his voice."

"Your soul will heal over time, Guren. The fact that you are here now, is a testament to that." Heath retrieve the tray and then knelt on the floor to watch Guren continue his work. "But I must insist that you eat, at least while we talk, there is something important that you need to know."

Guren stopped his scraping again and turned to the kneeling priest. Heath placed the tray on the ground and pushed it toward the red wizard, who eyed the offering with disgust and resigned defeat. "...If only to make you leave me in peace."

Guren reached for the tastiest looking piece of meat on the tray and began to devour it, then hesitated a little as he regarded the taste of the portion.

"This... This is rabite isn't it?" Guren frowned.

"Yes." Heath smiled in approval, nodding his head eagerly.

"That's disgusting." Guren complained, but his empty stomach cancelled out any misgivings he may have had.

"Guren..." Heath suddenly averted his eyes, looking unsettled about something.

"What is it?" Guren asked, continuing to work his way through the food in front of him.

"We received an advance party from the new kingdom of Altena..." Heath saw Guren's eye visibly widen as he mentioned the kingdom, and braced himself for the inevitable irrational reaction. "The Queen of Reason will be coming to Wendel... today."

Guren jumped to his feet and began throwing books and papers from the bed to the floor, looking for something frantically.

"Guren! Guren stop!" Heath called, getting to his feet to try and calm Guren down.

"You can't let her see me! Not like this!" Guren flustered, flinging more and more books off the bed.

"Guren!"

Heath moved to put a hand on the red wizard's shoulder to try and calm him, but Guren was too fast, and span in place to catch the pale priest by the throat, backing him up into the wall. Heath froze in place, not daring to further enrage the abnormally strong wizard. Heath had already lost his life to Guren once before, and if he were to lose it a second time there would be no coming back.

The section of hair that had covered half of Guren's head had now shifted, to reveal more red scales that had taken over half of his face, and a blue eye that was now no longer human, but slit like a reptile. Guren's remaining human eye widened suddenly at the realization of his actions, and he released his friend, backing away to the bed and picking up an old book that had been set at the bottom of the pile.

Heath rubbed the section of his neck Guren had threatened, but did not call for help, he understood that the man was not quite in control of his faculties. When Guren had arrived in Wendel two years ago, he had merely been injured and had every intention of returning to Altena once his body had healed.

The story he had told Heath and the Priest of Light was a mirror to the story told by Duran and the heroes of the mana, Charlotte and Angela, but contained its own share of hardship and sorrow. Most interestingly to Heath was the manner in which Guren had evaded death by using shade magic as a smokescreen, before using a form of non corporeality to hide himself inside a wall.

While it had been an ingenious use of magic, it had severely aggravated his wounds. And when those wounds had begun to regenerate they were inexplicably covered in hardened, red dragon scale, and now those scales had slowly begun to consume the rest of his body.

Guren and Heath had travelled to Altena together at Guren's request, and had broken into the sealed magic academy. Guren had known exactly where to go, although unsuccessful, his initial studies had been quite extensive. They had retrieved only one book, the book Guren now held in his hands, 'Theory and examples of human transmutation and general transfiguration'.

The theory behind magic had been easy for him to grasp even while at the academy, but the gift of magic had not been in his blood. Now the blood of the Dragon Emperor was flowing in his veins, the result of the unholy pact he had made with the beast in the snowfields of Altena, and it had been their theory that this dragon's blood was responsible for slowly turning him into a pseudo dragon creature.

"It seems that we were seen by an Altenian citizen." Heath continued, "I wasn't recognized, but you were, and the advance scouting party is already searching for you in the city."

"Will they come here?" Asked Guren, now flipping absently through the book.

"Ordinarily... No. All of my acolytes can be trusted... however..." Heath cringed.

"However, what?" Guren snapped the book shut and glared at his friend.

"Well... it's only a '_little_' problem!" Heath grinned uncomfortably and tried to wave off Guren's intensifying glower.

- _Six Hours Later_ -

Angela knelt over a pile of books in the tiny, dreary room that Guren had been calling home for the past two years. There was no sign of the red wizard himself, but the evidence of his existence was all around her. Runes and notes had been carved into almost every surface, as if he were gradually drawing an elaborate magic circle but was not entirely sure of the theory behind his efforts.

The methodology behind this magic was alien even to Angela. The spells she had learned in her travels had been purely offensive, and required nothing more than words and hand gestures to invoke. She knew Guren had attended the magic academy for only a year, but for him to be familiar with magic as complex as this, she realized for the first time that Guren was a true genius the likes of which Altena had not seen since her mother.

The books and notes Guren had left her were all related to transmutation and transfiguration, in particular his hand written notes had been centred completely on undoing the magical bindings of a chimera, or at least that's what Angela had thought until Heath had directed her attention to one particular parchment which had been half destroyed.

It seemed to have served more as a diary than anything else, but it was enough to send fear as sharp as lightning pulsing through Angela's nerves.

'_...and wounds have completely healed, but I cannot stop the advance of the Dragon's Blood. The book that I took from the academy was useless. The only spell I was able to learn speeds up the affect of this curse, and all my attempts at creating a magic circle to separate myself from the dragon growing inside of me have ended in failure. Heath says that given enough time I will find a way to save myself, but I have no ideas left. It might be my punishment for choosing to serve that man rather than accept the death I was condemned to by Altena's nobility. It must be justice, __because in truth, even though I had no choice but to do the things I did, I eventually came to enjoy them. But in spite of all else, my biggest regret is that I know I will never be able to show her my face again._'

Angela held the broken and crumpled fragment of parchment to her chest and remained on her knees in a moment of quiet contemplation, prompting Heath to attempt to console her.

"My lady," Heath began softly, "I truly do believe that in time he will discover the a way to treat himself."

"Tell me where he is." Angela insisted, still holding the paper lovingly as if it were her own child.

"I made a promise to him that I would not-"

"Tell me where he is!" Angela insisted, her voice cracking and the ground beneath her gaining moisture from the tears rolling off her cheeks. "I won't let anyone else I lo- I won't let someone else disappear! So tell me! Or I swear to you, I will raze this city to the ground until I find him!"

Heath's expression darkened and he bowed his head solemnly, unable to deny the purity in Angela's words. It seemed that in this case, he wouldn't have a choice after all, the two of them would have to work this out for themselves.

"You must know that his mind is suffering from this curse just as much as his body. It has become harder and harder for him to remain rational as the dragon blood's influence on his mind grows stronger, and if you chase him now you may do more damage to him than you intend."

"Please!" Angela turned and prostrated herself before the young priest, the first time in her life she had ever begged anyone for anything. "For all that I have done I haven't asked for a reward from anyone! this is the only thing I will ever ask of you, please don't let me lose him again!"

Heath was visually stunned by the sight of Angela face down atop the paper strewn floor, her tears continuing to form a small pool in the parchment beneath her. "Please, my lady, please stand. He is at the great lake, it is the one place that nobody goes at this time of year."

Angela resumed a kneeling position and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you." She said, pushing herself to her feet. "I will go to him..."

"The only thing I ask is that you go alone." Said Heath, "If he were to feel threatened by your escorts, I fear he may be unable to control himself."

Angela nodded in agreement. "Then I will need you to take care of them for me." Angela managed to stave off the cloud in her mind long enough to bestow her face with a mischievous grin.

Heath sighed at the look and resigned himself to his fate with no argument. "It seems I'm always cleaning up after the girls in this temple."

-

The great lake that separated Wendel from Jad and the ruins of Astoria was completely frozen over, but Wendel's usually temperate climate made it unsafe to venture out onto the ice, the risk of the brittle cover fracturing was too high, and no one would wish to be swallowed by the frigid waters beneath. But for the world's last magic user the fragility of the frozen lake was not a problem.

Guren walked several inches above the frozen lake, seemingly treading on thin air. The space between him and the ice below shimmered with each step, and he ventured further out into the centre of the vast lake that dominated the centre of the continent, a place he thought where nobody would find him. When he was far enough into the lake to be nothing but a black and gold speck from the bank, Guren sat on the shimmering mattress of light supporting him in the air, and began reading the spell book from Altena's magic academy. The time he had remaining was precious, and even if he was hiding he would not allow himself to take a break in his research.

Guren flipped through the pages one by one, it was material he had covered before, nothing new to be gleaned from the ink inside. But the book was all that he had, the only thing holding him back from spending an eternity as a violent imperial dragon, or at least just until Duran and the knights of gold slaughtered him in his sleep.

A splash of water from snow melted in his hair dropped onto the book as he was reading. Guren's eye widened and he cursed out loud as the fine inked lines began to bleed together. Without thinking about it Guren closed his eyes and focused intently on the image of flowing water and began the second portion of the incantation to create the globe of liquid necessary for the lance of water he had used against Duran. Almost instantly the water dropped into the page, some below his feet, and in the air around him rushed together to form the globe around his hand and the book was dry once again, a little blurred but as if the water had never been there.

Guren dispersed the globe of water to his side, and glowered at the snow all around him. If only it could be that easy to remove the dragon's blood from his body.

'_...Why wouldn't it be?_' Guren gawked at the possibility. He had been consumed with the physical consequences of his transformation that he had neglected to address the cause.

To be able to separate the individual components of matter was a basic part of both wizardy and alchemy, it was so simple in fact he had tried it numerous times to remove the scales from his body only to have them regenerate.

Not once had he actually attempted to remove the dragon's blood because it would rob him of the ability to use magic. And if he were to try it now, with no other magic users in the world to repair his body, would remain in this half transformed state for the rest of his life.

"Just enough!" Guren crowed excitedly. "I don't have to be powerful! I just need enough to halt the transformation and just enough to fix myself!"

Guren tossed the book to the ice and folded his legs, holding one fist out to his side and drew the necessary runes in the air with his free hand. Guren concentrated hard on the image of the Dragon Emperor, his tremendous golden and bulk and skeletal dagger toothed head leering at him as if it were peering in through the void in Guren's soul.

Beginning the incantation, Guren lurched violently as the blood inside him tried to rush in an awkward direction, but he held on strong to the image in his head and fought through the pain to complete the chant. He could feel the blood bursting through pores in his skin and flooding the cavity in his mouth and nose, flowing freely out of him to try and reach his hand.

The violent pressure in Guren's mind began to lift and he could physically feel the scales on his face begin to fracture and join the growing orbs of blood around his balled fist.

"Enough!" Guren grinned satisfactorily and shot the ball of blood and fragmented scale into a lance that struck out at the ice sheet beneath him, penetrating it and staining part of the lake a deep crimson.

After wiping a thin trail of blood from his mouth and nose, Guren touched the skin on the part of his face that had been overtaken by scale. It was skin! Tender and scarred but it was skin! And his eye! His eye was normal! The scale on his arm and torso was still there but his face, he could see Angela, he could see her right now!

Guren fell back onto his cloud of light and laughed heartily. "Two years!" He shouted out loud and clenched both his fists together above his face. "Two wasted years and it was so simple! A ridiculously simple water gathering spell! I can't believe it!"

"Guren!" A voice called out across the distance causing Guren to bolt upright. "Guren!" It repeated while drawing closer.

"Princess!" Guren's face lit up as he recognized the rapidly approaching figure, and he jumped to his feet. "Angela!"

The two of them ran to each other, sparks of light beneath issuing from Guren's magical cloud of light, and snow and water thrown up from Angela's toes as they dug into the ice.

Angela's face lit up to see Guren approaching her and she quickened her pace, dropping her staff along the way.

"Gur-AH!" Angela yelped suddenly as the ice gave way beneath her feet, and in that instant that lasted less than a second, she was gone.

Guren's face dropped from elation to sheer horror in less time than it had taken for Angela to fall. And he ran with every last ounce of strength he could muster to spot where she had vanished. There was no sign of her, just a few chunks of ice floating in a hole slightly larger than the width of her lithe body.

"Levitation!" Guren yelled and he simultaneously drew the spell with both hands, and aimed it at the water, but there was nothing, she had disappeared.

"No! NO!" Guren raged, "Not like this! What do I do?!"

Guren cast the spell again, and again, but there was no reaction, Angela had sunk out of reach. Guren thrust his arms into the pond and fished around inside trying to find her, he felt the biting numbness of the freezing water creep over him almost instantly. If he didn't hurry, Angela was going to die in there.

Guren wracked his mind for a spell, for anything that he could remember that could save her. A fire spell could heat water, but there was no way he could generate enough fire to heat even small part of this enormous lake.

'_Fire!_' Guren thought, there was one spell he could, one spell that would give him enough fire to melt all of Altena. Guren closed his eyes and drew a dozen runes in the air as fast as he could manage, all of them turning a bright, deathly red. Guren doubled over in pain as the Dragon's Blood remaining inside him ignited and multiplied exponentially, the scales on his face quickly manifesting themselves once again and this time rapidly spreading across the rest of his body, and what was fast becoming less and less of Guren fell head first into the open lake.

All was quiet above the great lake, the winter wind whistled through the air and snow continued to fall as if nothing had happened.

Without warning the iced surface of the lake suddenly cracked and burst, a colossal red dragon with striking blue eyes, and jaws large enough to swallow a man whole, cried vociferously, spewing a flare of intense white flame into the air. A cloud of ice, snow, and steam flew in all direction, blooming outward across the lake like a blossoming flower. The dragon's mighty, leathery wings beat hard shaking off the icy water that was clinging to them and it lurched unsteadily into the air. A stripe of golden blonde hair travelled down its back, but it lay matted to one side, still soaked from its icy cradle.

The dragon roared again and thundered forward, seemingly unsure of how to control itself and it tumbled head first into the bank of the lake, knocking down a slew of trees as it made contact with a small forest, before finally coming to a halt in a small trench of its own making.

The dragon released the careful grip it had been maintaining with its front arms and hands, revealing the unconscious form of a young woman, her snow white robes soaked through to her pale skin with hot water.

Angela coughed and spluttered as her body jolted her back to consciousness, safe at least for now from the deathly cold that was all around her. "Guren!" She called out, and looked at the massive beast lying helplessly on its side.

Angela scrambled backwards, terrified of this thing that looked so much like the Dragon Emperor. But as she looked at it longer, she could see the softer features and clear blue eyes that defined it, and the sad look that was etched up on its face didn't make it seem evil at all.

"G-Guren?" Angela asked the slowly breathing behemoth, but the dragon did not reply it simply continued to stare at her with sad blue eyes, as if it were completely exhausted. "Oh no... Guren..." Angela got shakily to her feet and walked back toward the giant's head.

Angela placed her hands at the centre of the Dragon's snout, taking in the feeling of the hard scaled texture. The dragon groaned, or perhaps purred, it was hard for Angela to distinguish the low thunderous sounds that the creature produced.

"Guren... I'm sorry, this is all my-" Angela buried her head into the dragon and sobbed as she had done the day her mother had passed away. "Why?! I should have waited! Why am I so foolish!?"

Angela looked into one of the creatures blue eyes that swam with Guren's gentle light. "The Dragon Emperor could take human form... Could you...? … Can you understand me, Guren?"

"ARCHERS!" Came a shout from the edge of the destroyed forest, and almost immediately three arrows lanced out striking the dragon directly in the head. "Protect the Queen!"

The dragon howled in rage, knocking Angela off her feet as it reared its head and stood up to face its attackers. A group of Angela's escorts, alerted by the commotion caused by the dragon had come to investigate and taken what they had believed to be appropriate action.

"No! Stop!" Angela pleaded, but it was too late.

A second wave of arrows and approaching swordsmen prompted the red dragon to exact swift retribution. It took a deep breath and lunged its head forward, passing safely by Angela as if protecting her from harm, and sending a jet of white hot flame at its attackers, narrowly missing two swordsmen but engulfing a third, reducing him to ash instantly, leaving it amid a pile of molten armour.

The dragon beat its wings, using the air pressure to knock the remaining attackers off their feet and eventually lifted itself into the air, circling higher and higher until it was out of their reach. One of the swordsmen ran to Angela and pulled her away from the trench without pausing to query her struggling and protests.

As she was forcefully pulled away by her soldiers, Angela screamed out Guren's name one last time and clawed at the air in front of her, as if desperately trying to pull him back. But all she could do was watch, as the magnificent crimson dragon disappeared into the brightly burning sun.

_**-Epilogue-**_

It had been decided that at the end of every year. Each person living in new Altena would light a candle to remember those whom had died when the barrier of perpetual spring had failed and the Queen of Reason had passed away. These candles would burn throughout the night and into the new year, it would remain an Altenian tradition for many decades to come.

The small square of the new town was quiet on this, the first night of remembrance. It was a time of solemn recollection, and the townspeople were resolved to remain indoors and pray for the souls of the departed. But there was one exception.

The former Queen of new Altena, Angela, had given up her right to rule the nation after returning from Wendel, and had resolved to live as an ordinary citizen. Of course the people of Altena would never treat her as such, and even now that she had given up the title and the duties of Queen, the people still treated her and expected her to live as royalty even if she refused to. She was after all, the heroine that had defeated the Dragon Emperor and had plucked their nation from the brink of certain death, it was something that the people of Altena would never be able to forget for the next thousand years.

Angela sat out under the stars, crunching the snow beneath her feet, and clasping a candle meant for her mother between her hands. She had been out alone on the road for quite some time now, making her way south to Diorre through the Mystic Forest, where another branch of the elven race that inhabited the northern continent dwelled in seclusion, blanketed by their strict rules about contact with humans.

And from Diorre, Angela hadn't yet planned her destination, but she was already leaning toward the east, Forcena, the Glass Desert and the Dragon's Hole, the temperate places where dragons liked to hunt and make their dens. Though every night like tonight, Angela had stared solemnly up into the twinkling night sky, watching, waiting, hoping for a glimpse of a scarlet angel soaring across the face of the moon.

Angela set the candle down on ground beside her and collected a ball of snow in her hands, holding it tight and feeling the numbness seep into her fingers was strangely refreshing. She watched the candle flicker in the still night air, and smiled slightly at it.

"I hope you're doing well, Mother." She said. "I hope you're not too lonely."

Angela looked down again at the ball of snow, her face more sour now. She felt as if she had finally come to the end of a long road, and found that it had led her nowhere, though perhaps she had matured from the experience.

"I'll be lonely enough for the both of us." She continued, sounding slightly despondent.

Angela was about to drop the ball of snow to her feet when a white streak caught her attention from the corner of her left eye, and she turned to investigate it only to be struck in the face another large snowball.

"Your face is making the whole kingdom gloomy." A soft, deep voice spat her own words back at her, though she could not see the person through the snow clinging to her face. "As princess of Altena it is your duty to cease this behaviour."

While initially startled, Angela was familiar enough with the action and words to know what was happening, she had after all, thought about that night every day for the past nine years. She bolted to her feet and ran to the direction of the voice, and was caught in a pair of strong arms that wrapped themselves around her and pulled her tightly into a lasting embrace. Angela brushed her face against the chest of the person holding her, clearing the snow from her eyes and she peered up into the shining blue eyes of the boy she had met ten years ago outside the grand kingdom she once called home.

"Angela," Guren smiled at her, "I'm sorry-"

Before Guren could continue his apology, Angela leapt up to wrap her arms around his neck and pulled him down off his feet. The two of them lied together in the snow, neither one wanting to relinquish their grip.

"Don't you dare to make me wait that long again." Angela whispered, "I'm a princess you know."

"Angela..." Guren whispered back, "The blood is still boiling inside me... I'm still-"

"I don't care." Angela cried, burying her head again into his chest. "I don't care what you are, as long as you're here. Even if the whole world is your enemy, I'll stand by your side."

"Angela..." Guren moved a hand to her head and cupped it gently around the nape of her neck to keep her warm.

"So don't go anywhere without me, ever again." She sniffed, nuzzling her forehead against him.

"Angela..." Guren whispered again, a little more urgently.

"...What is it?" Angela asked solemnly, worried his persistent melancholy was threatening to steal him away from her for a third time.

"It's cold down here." Guren finished with an awkward smile.

Angela was stunned for a few seconds of stupified silence, before summoning the ability to respond. "You..." She began, nestling her head into him fully and stifling a chuckle, "You're not cool at all."


End file.
